Building Bridges
by winkieprince
Summary: Modern AU. On opposite lanes of a busy Emerald City street were two towering buildings. One belonged to Arjiki Tradings, headed by the Tiggular family. The other, Thropp Co., is run by one Elphaba Thropp. Musicalverse.
1. Chapter 1

**Building Bridges**

 **AU: On opposite lanes of a busy Emerald City street were two towering buildings. One belonged to Arjiki Tradings, headed by the Tiggular family. The other, Thropp Co., is run by one Elphaba Thropp. Musicalverse.**

* * *

Fiyero swallowed hard as he fought the urge to fall asleep.

The old, wispy haired, pale skinned financial advisor had been rambling on and on about their annual projections for _three hours straight_ _now_. It was nearly impossible not to feel the words slowly lull the entire board of directors to the Ozian dreamland.

He enjoyed his position in the family business, of course. Being the middle child, he hadn't needed to worry about being good enough to take over old Magnus Tiggular – Ozmopolitan's (business)Man of the Year. And unlike his elder brother, he had all the time and money to party like it's the Wizard's birthday.

It was, of course, because of his hard partying lifestyle that placed him in rehab for a little while… A long while actually…

Two years to be exact.

His father had decided he was ready to come to work and help his brother out, and of course, the first day he was back, he'd have to attend the sleep-inducing bore of a meeting.

What a soiree! It was almost as if the unnamed god was damning him for his past reeking of debauchery.

He took a sip from his mug – Best Teacher in the World! – and winced at the taste. They had changed the blend from the last time he was here, and it wasn't a good change. Just what _is_ this crap that he'd just put in his mouth?

The coffee did its job of keeping him _mildly_ awake, however, and he spent the remainder of the meeting staring out the window, watching as the pigeons flew by.

"—and that's it for the projections. Budgeting would be presented next week by our CFO, Fiyero Tiggular."

Ah, office life. It's been a while.

* * *

"So this is your new office. We've done some rearranging of the floor layouts – as you might've noticed – and the Finance department – which is _your_ department – is right here. The pink one."

Arielle, his brother's perky, blond haired – oh wait, brown roots – secretary pointed her well-manicured finger on the pink shaded block on the tablet screen. She was standing exceedingly close to him, although he didn't really mind it. If he just tilted his head a little to the right, he would get a really good view of her—

"Fiyero!"

He jerked back at the sound of his brother's voice and scowled as he watched him stride down the hall towards him.

Baldr was taller than Fiyero, which had been a feat, since Fiyero was already a towering 6'2, and unlike his younger brother – who had russet-coloured hair – Baldr prided himself on his dark – almost black – coloured mane.

"You ought to cut that shaved," Fiyero commented with a smirk. "It qualifies as a mullet."

Baldr rolled his eyes as he touched the back of his hair self-consciously, "It's not that bad. I just haven't had the time to make an appointment with my stylist."

"Did your stylist recommend the mullet? You should see my guy instead." He chuckled, shoving his hands into his pant pockets.

"I should get going, Mr Tiggular," Arielle said meekly as she slinked away from the two men. She turned back and gave Fiyero a little smile before she quickly made the corner and disappeared.

"She's cute," Fiyero said.

Baldr grimaced, "No. Not my secretary. I swear in Lurline's name –"

"Relax—"He laughed as he waved his hand dismissively, "I'm on probation, remember? Daddy-O would cut me off, etcetera, etcetera."

Baldr exhaled deeply as if to calm his nerves. "So – Have you seen your new office yet? After the renovations, you've got one of the nicest view in the whole building. And a large enough window to enjoy it."

"I haven't seen it actually. Your secretary was just explaining the changes in floorplans." He said. "Didn't this used to be _your_ room?"

Baldr nodded absent-mindedly, "Dad got really into this Ev-styled _feng shui_ guy. He says that finance should be alongside the river – aka 34th Main Street – because it symbolises a water wheel or some bull along the lines."

"I'm surprised you guys aren't worried about leaving me with the company wallet," Fiyero pulled a half-smile.

"Why? Should we be worried?" His brother raised a thick brow and frowned.

"No – No. Not at all."

Baldr gave his brother a bad look and pushed against the door to the office. The men stepped inside, both looking over the room – one in envy and the other in excitement.

The room was decent sized with an earthy brown and green theme to it. Fiyero found that it reminded him of a forest, although if he knew his father well enough, he was probably reminded of money instead.

The door faced north, with a direct line of sight to the building opposite of the street. His main work area was congregated to the eastern side of the room.

His desk was simple, but very stylish, and had plenty of room for personalization. The padded office chair was almost grand amongst the stylized furniture – he was after all a Tiggular. His computer sat angled and two nondescript chairs were placed in front of his desk.

"This is nice," Fiyero whistled as he took a roundabout.

Baldr stood by the door, smirking. "It's quite a view."

The younger of the two walked over to the window, which occupied the entire northern side of the room. "I can see directly over to the office over at the other building." Thankfully for him, nobody seemed to be in the room, and he was free to stare and observe.

"I wouldn't try to make any eye contact there." Baldr frowned. "After the renovations, we realized that now it's entirely possible for people at Thropp Co. to look over anytime they wanted, and vice versa. It's a distracting flaw much too expensive to fix."

"We could get curtains?"

"We switched over to a new energy savings plan. They won't allow us to use the lights unless it's dark out." Baldr groaned. He ran a hand over his hair in frustration. "Alright, I'll leave you to catch up with whatever you have to do… Dinner tonight with Navii and the kids?"

"Sure."

* * *

A week went by with no incidents.

Meetings were attended and he was very easily caught up with his duties as the CFO. Fiyero had always had a secret knack for sorting out finances and all the boring stuff. Of course, barely a year and a half into achieving CFO status, he had burned it all in partying and boozing.

Now he was back and ready to set things right – he didn't want his father barking up his ass again.

"The company's got shares in theatre, don't we?" Crope – one of the public relations guys – asked with a curious tone. They had headed out to lunch at the Old-Hen café with Tibbett – another PR guy – in tow.

"Yeah, we do. The Robinson's Theatre at 37th Main Street was one of them I think." Fiyero stabbed at his chicken caprese. "Why'd you ask?"

Crope glanced at Tibbett with a little smile and then back to Fiyero, "Do we get free tickets? You know. Employee benefits?"

"Don't we give those out thing during Christmas or something?" Fiyero raised a brow, shoving a tomato slice into his mouth unceremoniously.

"Good gracious, don't shove things in like that. You're lucky there's no paparazzi around." Tibbett scowled at the mess around Fiyero's lips.

"Papa – what? Nobody knows who I am, geez. I'm a drone at a corporate company." He cleaned himself off with the napkin that Crope that tossed in his direction.

"And they called you the scandalacious vinkun playboy. Sweet baby Ozma, how far the OzPoz Magazine has fallen."

"They called me that?" Fiyero furrowed his brows, piling the rest of his chicken caprese into a neat mount.

"In the top 10 most eligible bachelors section!" Crope took a long sip from his booster juice. "You were number 7."

" _Seven_?"

Tibbett chuckled, "Trust me, we thought you'd rank higher too – You were right below Chai Bumblebottom."

"Who the hell is that?" Fiyero huffed.

"That one guy from Dancing with the Stars!" Crope exclaimed indignantly. "Although on hindsight, he's got a _great_ ass."

"HA! _Hind_ sight." Tibbett snorted.

"Very cute, Tibbett." Crope laughed. He then glared maternally at Fiyero's plate. "If you don't finish that chicken, you're going to starve to death later. The budgeting discussions for that infernal 'secret project' is going to last forever – you know that."

"Yes, mom." Fiyero pulled the plate to his mouth and shovelled everything inside, including the garnish – just to spite the blond.

Crope made gagging noises and Tibbett threw another napkin to his face.

* * *

It was 7pm when Fiyero had finally finished up with the last of his reviews. It had taken him all week, including the weekends, to finish reading up on what had happened to the company's financial portfolio in the 2 years he had been in rehab.

He stretched lazily in his chair and looked out the window. From where he sat, he could see the purples and the oranges streaked across the blues and the whites. Dusk was his favourite time of day.

It was then that his eyes caught on the movement in the office directly across to his – the office from the Thropp Co. building. All week, he had peaked over to the other side, but was left disappointed when the owner of the office seemed to be away. His childish curiosity had been eating into him. Finally, something seemed to be happening.

A petit blond had carefully entered the room. Fiyero could scarcely make out her face, but she seemed pretty enough. She approached the desk and placed a pile of folders on the tray.

He had been watching her for another minute or two when she seemed to feel his eyes on her and turned to the window. With her standing by the windows, he could see clearly now that she _is_ a very pretty girl. Beautiful, actually.

She saw Fiyero too and she smiled. He stood from his chair and approached the window, giving her a charming smile of his own. She winked, causing his heart to flutter for a second, and turned – making a beeline towards the door.

This discovery of a beautiful girl working in the Thropp building both excited and disappointed him. He was excited that perhaps he would see her again when they were having lunch around the vicinity – but he was disappointed as well, because it was clear that the office in his direct line of sight did not belong to her.

"I think she's the secretary." Fiyero mused absentmindedly while Tibbett nursed his wine.

"You'd better get her out of her head. Your daddy's not going to be happy with you fraternizing with the enemy." He said with a little wave of his hand.

"She's really beautiful though," Fiyero sighed. "That blond hair with soft curls. And when she winked at me – oh, boy." He grinned at the memory.

Tibbett rolled his eyes, "You fall in love much too easily, Fiyero. Remember what happened with Sarima?"

Fiyero scrunched his nose at the name. Even the thought of his ex left a bad taste in his mouth. He took a swig of his jack and coke to rinse it off. "Sarima was a whore. I never loved her."

"You say that, but you also bought her a _house_."

"Yeah well, I banged her sisters."

"That's nasty." Tibbett frowned. "And it's also one of the reasons why we chucked you into rehab." He took the rest of the drink away, "And don't use that word around me. You know I hate that."

"Bang?"

"Whore. I hate that. It's uncivilized and disgusting."

"I'm sorry. You're right." He sighed. "And thanks for taking that away from me. If my dad found out that I'm out in a bar again, he'd disown me immediately."

"You're welcome. Go call a cab. You look ready to fall apart at the door."

Fiyero planted a kiss on Tibbett's jaw and the dark haired man shoved him aside playfully. They said their goodbyes and he waved down a cab. By the time he reached his apartment building, he'd already sobered.

* * *

 **A/N** I don't have a plan for this. I'm very literally winging it and I had so much fun writing the Crope and Tibbett conversation.  
As you guys might know, I'm still posting for my other story. This one will not be a priority until Night At The Museum is done. I also have a Gelphie story in the works, but that's going through some revision. No more than two at a time :)

This is a corporate AU where there are no princes and no eminencing.  
Only green girls and russet-haired playboys ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

He rolled over and sighed in pleasure.

It had been a long, _long_ time since he had such a time under sheets with someone. A vibrating sound came from his phone on the bedside table and he reached over with his free hand to check.

 _Received 11.37pm  
BaldrT_: I forgot to mention. Get Emmi to send you that new set of indexes.

 _Received 11.38pm  
BaldrT_: It needs to be included in the presentation for the Tenmeadows meeting tomorrow.

 _Received 11.38pm  
BaldrT_: By morning, Fiyero. Remember that.

A purr came from the woman kissing trails along his abdomen. "What's going on?" She pulled herself up to Fiyero's face and nibbled on his lobe.

"Baldr wants you to send me that new set of indexes." He smirked, turning his phone to sleep again.

She was stunned, and scrambled up to sit cross legged on the bed. Fiyero decided that that was undoubtedly the _least_ sexy thing someone had ever done in bed with him, and so he furrowed his brows.

"What?"

"Oh my god."

" _What_?" Sweet Lurline, he hated it when girls did that.

"Oh my goddddd!" She squealed and sobbed, completely ignoring the fact that she was sitting naked and getting snot and tears all over his satin sheets. "I totally forgot to send the files to get verified by Dallas! I can't send you the indexes until I get it verified!"

Fiyero, still groggy from the amazing sex and the fatigue that came with it, grumbled, "I thought you did that yesterday?"

"I was _gonna_." She shot a glare at him, "But I was too distracted by your _penis_ in my _vagina_." She broke down again, wailing, "Oh my godddd, your brother's going to _kill_ me!"

"Don't worry," Fiyero said, rolling over to his chest and burying his face in his pillow. "He's more likely to fire you than to kill you, my dear."

He was well on his way to fall asleep when Emmi screamed, "YOU ARE SUCH A… A…"

"Genius in bed?"

"— CAD!"

"Oh come on!"

She sprung out of his bed, completely butt naked, and began to throw on her clothes, screaming and yelling obscenities at him throughout. Fiyero – as with all the other times he had found himself with a woman – was quickly disenchanted.

The sound of Emmi's screaming and cursing faded away when she slammed his door shut, and he knew that his apartment was now empty again. He piled another pillow on top of his head and began to think through how he was going to explain this situation to his brother in the morning.

* * *

"Ohhh. You're in deep shit now, aren't you?" Crope whispered conspiratorially as they strode hurriedly towards the sliding doors that led to 'Meeting Room A'.

"What are you babbling about?" Fiyero rolled his eyes. He pulled the door open and motioned for his party to enter first.

Crope set up his tablet and some writing materials. "Emmi tendered her resignation this morning. I've seen you making eyes at her when we walked by her table the other day, so don't you dare deny any involvement."

Fiyero motioned at his PA to set up the projector. Bryan – or Brr as they called him because of his tendency to shiver in the air-conditioned offices – quickly made his way towards the convoluted machine and began hooking up his boss's laptop to the screen.

"What are _you_ doing here anyway? I don't remember asking for PR assistance." Fiyero grumbled as he scanned through his notes and slides.

The blond man snorted, "After your brother heard about the index situation, he asked me to come by and give you moral support, in case Tenmeadows starts bitching."

"I can handle myself. I mean, if I could get that EmeraldC Trade Partners funding on my own, I can definitely handle Tenmeadows corp."

"Oh, we have faith in your glib, but Tenmeadows can be quite a piece of work. Haven't you seen that video Mikkos was showing us last week? Avaric Tenmeadows is like you. But blond and Gillikinese."

"Real subtle backhand there, Crope." Fiyero narrowed his eyes at him.

They _would_ continue their conversation, if not for the door opening and their guests stepping into the room. Fiyero plastered on his most charming smile as he shook hands with the representatives from Tenmeadows corp.

Brr guided the party of three to one end of the table and served some tea – the good stuff, not the bagged crap they left out in the pantry.

The introductions were made quickly, and the men settled into business.

Avaric Tenmeadows was the son of the previous Chairman Tenmeadows. They liked to brag that they came from a line of Margreaves, with a mansion somewhere to the south of the Gillikin.

Their business portfolio included managing the _Diamond Ocelots_ – a Wizard's ball team – and owning _Meadows Square Garden_ , right here in the Emerald City. In all, they were the second largest competitor to Arjiki Tradings. The first was of course their neighbours over at the other side of the street.

But in any case, business was business, and it wouldn't make sense if the dollar-smart Tenmeadows family didn't throw in some investment money into Arjiki Tradings, and vice versa.

Money talks.

The meeting began with the Tenmeadows representatives speaking on behalf of Avaric, who was shaking his leg distractedly as if he was bored out of his mind. Unlike Fiyero, Avaric was the only son to his father's empire, and because of that he was coddled and protected in every aspect of his life for as long as he had known.

"—available prior to the issuance of financial statements indicate that it is probable that an asset had been impaired or a liability had been incurred—"

"—well then, In that case, paragraph 450-20-25-2 requires accrual of the $2 million if that is considered a reasonable estimate of the loss." Fiyero raised a brow at the straight faced Filaanian finance advisor Avaric brought with him.

They had gone over the entire meeting agenda, but the Tenmeadows group seemed to be intent on finding some loophole somewhere in Fiyero's report to siphon more shares from Arjiki Tradings. 2 hours had come and gone, and finally they called for a recess.

"We'll have a half hour recess, and then we'll come back here by quarter to one?" Crope smiled brilliantly at their guests.

Everyone agreed, and Fiyero sent Brr to guide the Tenmeadows representatives to the pantry where they won't disturb anyone else.

Finally, when he was alone with Crope, he exhaled deeply. "Geez, what an ass."

"That Filaanian advisor? Yeah. God his accent was so thick, I could hardly make out what he was saying half the time. And when he started spewing out numbers?"

Fiyero rolled his eyes and took a swig of his lukewarm tea, "Did you see what they were trying to do? They brought out the data from _a year ago_. I wasn't even here a year ago! These bastards were trying to swindle us for more shares."

Crope nodded his head rigorously, removing his blazer and laying it neatly on his chair. "Remember when I said that Avaric T. was like you but Gillikinese? Yeah, I take that back. That boy doesn't know what in high hell was happening in that discussion. I could see it in his face."

"Unnamed god, I can't wait for lunch." Fiyero groaned as he stood from his seat and stretched unkemptly. "They just opened up a new restaurant just a couple of blocks from here. Munchkinlander cuisine. You and Tibbs up for a little beef and noodles?"

"Only if _you_ drive. It's the one that's three blocks south from here, just off Main Street? The one that looks like Munchkinland came and puked glitter and magic all over?"

Fiyero chuckled, "Not how I would've described it, but yes. The one that looks like every day is Harvest day at Munchkinland."

"I just texted him. He's at the PR team bonding thing at the break room so we'll probably only get a response around lunch time. He should be up for it though."

"I'll reserve a table for us then."

"Right, make it quick, cuz looks like Tenmeadows and gang are back."

"Alright then," Fiyero chugged the rest of his tea and dapped a napkin to his lips. "Time for round 2."

* * *

"Well isn't this fancy?" Tibbett raised a brow as the muchkin waiter placed a glass of wine in front of each of the three men.

Crope smirked when the waiter handed them some menus, bowed and walked away. "He's got a cute tush."

They had arrived at the restaurant after circling around the block for over 10 minutes. Apparently it wasn't _just_ off Main Street – it was hidden away in one of the smaller avenues with a scenic view of the park nearby. As promised, Fiyero drove them out in the new car that his brother had gotten for him after he checked out of rehab.

He snorted at Crope's remark, choosing to ignore his friend's comment. He glanced though the menus and realized very quickly that munchkinland cuisine consisted mainly of heavy meats, cream, or stews. They had some vegan alternatives, but it seems like the people from the east really enjoyed their red meats.

"I wouldn't mind coming back here again next week," Crope smiled mysteriously as he took a sip from his glass. "The waiters are cute as hell."

"Even if their food ends up tasting like shit?" Fiyero made a curious face at his friend.

"Then I'll just get a salad. Keeping healthy and all.

The restaurant had turned out to have an open floor plan, which made the room seem larger than it really is. The fancier tables were placed on an elevated platform and had significantly nicer deco. The one downside to Fiyero, however, was that there didn't seem to be a table where people could have some privacy. No booths meant that he was 75% less likely to bring a date here.

He didn't need any more snoops hanging around to tell everyone who he had been sleeping with.

"You've decided?" Tibbett asked as he closed his menu. Crope did the same.

Fiyero nodded, and he waved at the waiter to come take their orders.

Their food came very quickly, and to his relief, it wasn't half bad. The beef stir-fry was dryer than he'd liked, but it each bite was flavourful and thick. After they were done with their lunch, they realized that they had some time to kill and simply sat around and sipped wine, chattering about the new coffee machine HR had installed in the pantry that they were trying out.

"It tastes like butt crack in my opinion." Fiyero commented helpfully.

"And _you'd_ know what butt crack tastes like," Crope wriggled his brows at a gagging Fiyero. Tibbett simply laughed.

"It's the coffee blend that tastes like ass. The machine's not that bad. Less froth and much faster than the old one." Tibbett swirled his wine like the connoisseur he was.

"I'm just saying, we've got plenty of budget for HR this quarter, I don't understand why I'm still getting ass coffee in the morning." Fiyero shrugged.

"What a snob!" Crope cackled.

He was about to reply with something witty when his eyes caught on a particular petit blond who'd just walked in to the restaurant with a dark haired munchkin next to her.

"It's that girl – the one I talked about! From Thropp Co." Fiyero stage whispered to Tibbett. Crope, feeling annoyed at being left out leaned in as well.

"Who? What girl?"

Fiyero nodded towards the blond as the waitress showed them to their table, just a bit away from theirs.

Crope observed and raised a brow. "She's very pretty. What's she doing with the munchkin?"

"Owhh. Boyfriend?" Tibbett winced dramatically. Crope snorted and they clinked their glasses together, ignoring Fiyero's glare.

"Wait – wait." Fiyero squinted, "There's three glasses of wine. It's not a date."

"You're like this sexy, obsessive, vinkun playboy prince. I like it." Crope smirked seductively.

Tibbett burst into laughter.

"Shut up! She's looking over!"

Sure enough, the blond was tilting her head slightly and smiling at Fiyero. There was a little twinkle in her cerulean blue eyes and he was enchanted. "I'm going over." He said hastily as he stood and patted himself down to look presentable.

"Go get'em tiger!" Crope raised a glass to him and replaced Fiyero in his seat, shifting comfortably next to Tibbett, who – in turn – looked a little concerned for his friend.

"Hi." She smiled sweetly as she watched him approach. There were dimples on both sides of her cheeks, and a dainty blush on her face. Up-close, she was even more beautiful than he could've imagined.

Fiyero smiled back, "I saw you from across the building the other day." He reached out with a hand, very blatantly ignoring the unimpressed munchkin next to her. "I'm Fiyero."

"Glinda Upland." She introduced, and took his hand. Instead of shaking it, he leant down and planted a soft kiss on her knuckle. There was that flush on her cheeks again.

Glinda gestured towards her friend and was about to introduce him when he all but snatched her hand away and pulled Fiyero in a vice-like grip, "I'm Boq." He smiled insincerely.

Fiyero chuckled awkwardly and pulled his hand away, exercising his fingers from the force of the hand shake. He then returned his attentions to Glinda. "I've been hoping to see you again since that day. Is there any chance you would like to have dinner with me sometime?"

"I—"

"—oh look! It's a text from Elphie!"

Fiyero narrowed his eyes at Boq'x exclamation, but Glinda was now much too distracted to reply him right away.

"What did she say?" She asked, concern laced her words.

Boq showed her the text, turning his back to Fiyero and effectively shutting him out of the conversation. "She's raving about some idiot who parked his Audi like an asshole and she had to park like an inch away from the drywall."

"Oh the stupid green thing." Glinda sighed, but she spoke fondly. "We should've stayed in the car with her. It's no wonder she's had to get her paint job done every three months."

"Maybe we ought to get her a cooper."

"Only if you want her to make good on her threats to toss you off the building."

"I did say 'we'. She'd listen to you – she _only_ listens to you – Oh! Oh! Hang on. New text. She says she's – and I quote – have had enough of this ridiculous parking and the stupid black Audi. I'm done. I'm done. Curse words, curse words, cuss, cuss, cuss. I hate the Emerald City." Boq scratched a spot on his arm, "I took some liberties with the cursing."

"She didn't mean that," Glinda laughed. Then suddenly, as if she'd just recalled that Fiyero was here, she gasped, "Oh – I'm sorry! This was rude of us." She took one of the napkins and poked Boq for a pen, which Fiyero assumed that she knew he'd always be carrying.

"There." She smiled charmingly and handed him the napkin with her number scribbled on it. "Just send me a text."

"I will." He beamed. Clearly, however, he'd overstayed his welcome, so he quickly removed himself from the situation.

Back at his table, Crope and Tibbett were grinning from ear to ear. "You got the deets?"

"Glinda Upland. I'm gonna ask her out for lunch tomorrow." He smirked and quickly saved Glinda's number into his phone before folding the napkin gingerly and keeping it in his breast pocket.

"So, they're still waiting for their friend?" Tibbett asked, nodding over to the third glass of wine that was still untouched.

Glinda and Boq were huddled over the phone and probably still getting 'Elphie' to stop her ranting and get to the restaurant.

"Yup. Apparently she's parked next to some ass and had to squeeze in next to the wall."

"That's a shitty, shitty spot." Crope nodded sympathetically and finished off his wine. "Alright, I'm done. You probably shouldn't finish yours, Yero. We're being terrible friends for even letting you near this stuff."

"A little wine now and again won't do any harm," Fiyero rolled his eyes, but did not attempt to down the rest of his drink. He waved for the bill, paid for lunch, winked at Glinda and left the restaurant with his friends in tow.

They bantered and laughed all the way to the carpark where Fiyero had left his car – a black Audi R8 coupe. Something seemed to click in his head as he approached the car when a woman – skin, green as sin or as the moss on the tree – stalked away in the opposite direction, towards the restaurant.

Crope and Tibbett had stopped their chattering and were staring incredulously at the woman as well. She pulled her blazer closer to her chest and simply continued on, not giving a single rat's ass about the three of them, as if she had better things to do.

Did she _know_ that she was green? That was Fiyero's first thought.

Their walking came to a stop and they simply stared after the woman as she disappeared into the restaurant.

"Did you—"

"—yes I did, Crope. I did."

Fiyero knotted his brows together in confusion, "Who _was_ that?"

Tibbett stared at him incredulously and Crope burst into nervous laughter.

"Yero, sweetheart. You don't know who that was?" Tibbett was wide eyed and genuinely surprised.

On Fiyero's utterly bewildered look, he fished out his phone and got on google. He typed in something or another and tapped on an Ozpedia page, shoving the screen to Fiyero's face.

He saw the name, and then refreshed it in his mind again and again. And then he tried it on his lips, saying out loud. " _Elphaba Thropp_?" His voice came out as a barely audible squeak. " _That_ was _Elphaba Thropp_?"

"Queen of the Thropp & Company Corporation. Stepped up into her Great-Grandfather's shoes when she was just fresh out of Shiz U and helped turn the company into one of the biggest business entities in the Emerald City." Crope narrated as if he'd been reading it off an excerpt of her life somewhere.

Tibbett added helpfully, "And of course, green. Like grass. Or an artichoke. Or an asparagus. Or—"

"—yes, we get it, baby." Crope shushed him.

"Anyway, I can't believe you didn't even know what your biggest competitor looked like," Tibbett sighed as he looked over Fiyero patronizingly. "Competitive research. Stuff like that? I mean, it's got nothing to do with finance but have some _pride_ as a Tiggular!"

Fiyero glared weakly at his friend but chose not to bite on the bait. He unlocked the car and motioned at them to get in. As he was about to slip into the driver's side, he noticed a note clipped onto his wipers.

"What's that?" Crope asked innocently as he snapped in his seatbelt at the passenger's side.

Fiyero felt a mess of confusion as he read the note, which mostly consisted of angry ranting, cursing him and his family and all of his forebears, and of course a recommendation to a driver's ed school somewhere in Northern Emerald City.

"…Nothing. Just. Forget it."

He glanced at the vehicle next to his.

The silver BMW X6 sat a little too close for comfort to Fiyero's car, but upon closer inspection, the driver had parked her – yeah well he knew it was hers – car all but an inch away from the wall, giving Fiyero more space than he deserved – to be perfectly fair, he _did_ kind of park like an ass.

He exhaled calmly and slipped into his car, forcing away the thought of ever possibly seeing Elphaba Thropp again.

* * *

 **A/N** A wild Elphaba appears! Fiyero seems to be a little smitten by our dear Glinda Upland however...

RavenCurls - Fiyero's got a few tricks up his sleeves! He's smarter than he pretends to be, and it shows in the numbers ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**3.**

"So – how was the trip?" Glinda asked with a happy grin as she tossed the salad that she had been preparing for supper. She threw in a little more of the leafies when she realized that she'd put too much dressing.

Elphaba, who'd just come out from the first shower she had the luxury of having since her plane had touched down, grumbled something incoherent as she attempted to towel her hair dry. For most people, it would be a strange sight to see – a green woman in a brown tank top and grey sweat pants.

Glinda, who used to room with Elphaba in college, had seen it plenty of times however.

"Grumbling and grunting is not an answer, Elphie."

Chastised, Elphaba stopped her ruffling and exhaled deeply, " _I said_ – you've asked the same question this afternoon at lunch. The trip went fine."

"You were in Ev for over 2 weeks. Don't you have anything _juicier_ to share?" Glinda raised a brow and gave her friend a suggestive half-smile. She'd finished tossing her salad and made her way to the living area.

She lived alone in the apartment, although, Elphaba sleeps over so often that it was almost as if they never left that student suite back in Crage Hall. Glinda was lucky that she never really had to use the spare guest room much, and very willingly allowed Elphie to transform it into _her_ own personal room.

She didn't mind having Elphie around of course. The apartment almost felt too large without another person to share it with. The open kitchen was right next to the living area, where she spent most of her evenings watching old movies on Ozflix, which was the plan for tonight as well.

Elphaba went out to the balcony to leave her wet towel on the drying rack, and then came back in and threw herself onto the couch. "No, nothing juicy or scandalous. Just a boring old business trip to discuss boring old properties and signing boring old legal documents."

"You're holding out on me, I can feel it."

"You're a Marketing Director AND a psychic!"

" _And_ I'm the owner of this apartment!" Glinda huffed amusedly, "I have half a mind to toss you out right now in your pjs."

"Headlines in tomorrow's news blurb – Green CEO of Thropp Co. spotted wandering the streets of the Emerald City in pyjamas!"

"I swear, I can't hold a decent conversation with you without feeling like I'm talking to a 12 year old." Glinda rolled her eyes. She nibbled on her leafy salad and settled down on the couch, kicking Elphie gently for taking up over three-quarters of the furniture.

Elphaba relented. "There's really nothing else I could tell you about Ev. I just wished it didn't have to take 2 weeks to deal with them. I miss my office."

"Oh!" Glinda perked up at the mention of Elphaba's office, "There's something you should know."

"Oh grief, what did Boq do now—"

"Not Boq!" Glinda assured hurriedly and flushed. "Nevermind Boq." She stabbed into a cherry tomato to make a point. Elphaba was genuinely curious now. The blond continued, "Remember how the Arjiki building was going through some renovations for their offices and the office directly opposite to yours was getting redone when you left?"

Elphaba raised a brow, "I guess so…? It was their CEO's office if I recalled correctly – Baldr Tiggular."

"Yeah, well, poufy hair Baldr is out, and new hot Fiyero is _in_." Glinda swooned.

The green woman coiled back from her dizzy friend in confusion, "Baldr got replaced? I didn't hear about a change in executives at Arjiki."

"I don't think he got replaced, rather than moved his office elsewhere." Glinda assumed. "But I'd much prefer your new view." She laughed. "I gave him my number this afternoon."

"This afternoon? At the restaurant? I was sitting at the table the whole time—"

"No – no, you goose," Glinda smacked Elphie's arm lightly, "When you were still fussing about at the car."

"Alright, so you gave him your number… And you're telling me this because you want to confiscate my office for your ogling needs?"

Glinda looked away from her friend in mock-shyness, "I wouldn't say _that,_ but I _might_ come over more often from now on."

Elphaba couldn't help the small smile that erupted on her lips. "Well, who _is_ this guy anyway? What does he do at Arjiki?"

Glinda parted her lips to say something, but realized in that instant that she didn't _know_. In fact, she didn't even know his last name, just that he's got perfectly styled russet-coloured hair, glorious green eyes, sharp as knives jawline and wore tailored Karen Ozmaz suits – and those things cost a _bomb_.

"I'm not sure, actually. But he's definitely rich." Even as she said that, Glinda felt almost _disgusted_ at herself for saying that. She could fall in love with a very pretty man, but she would hate to have to be with a man for his wealth. If her life ever came to that, she was sure she'd be the miserable for the rest of her life. It was strange that if it had been a younger Glinda, she would've been perfectly content with marrying a man for his money. She supposed that having a bestfriend like Elphaba changes the perspectives of a girl.

"Alright… Just… Be careful?" Elphaba looked at her strangely, as if she didn't quite know what to do with that piece of information. Glinda could feel the concern lacing her words however, and was touched at Elphie's adorable awkwardness.

As a reward, Glinda saved her the tomatoes from her salad, and she even let Elphie pick the movie for tonight.

* * *

Thropp Co. had existed since the time where people in Oz actually thought that the Ozma were the daughters of the actual fairy queen, Lurline. The helm of the company tended to pass down from eldest daughter to eldest daughter, and although their shareholders have had concerns about keeping the tradition, Thropp ladies had proven time and time again that they got things done.

It was said that Elphaba Thopp, the current CEO, had once attempted to escape ascending to her position by running off to a mauntery of Saint Glinda's for over a month. Her Great-Grandfather had sent numerous private investigators scouring high and low for her, and it had – at one point – put her on the front page of every major news network.

The only reason she had come back was because she got sick and tired of seeing her own face everywhere – she didn't do it because she was defeated. No. She's just biding her time and using Thropp Co. as a tool for her own agendas.

Another curiosity about Elphaba Thropp was that she rarely showed up at networking events or heavily publicized events, she had Glinda for those kinds of things. Getting Glinda – who majored in Journalism and Mass Media – was the very first thing Elphaba had done as CEO, and it had been one of her smartest decisions. Glinda _thrived_ as the face of the company. She knew exactly what to say, _when_ to say it.

"You should smile more." Glinda commented as they stepped into the lift. Her office was just a floor below Elphaba's. They had carpooled, since Elphie spent the night. "Even the big burly security guard is afraid of you, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

"Are you sure it's not just because of the green?" She pulled her lips into a lopsided smile, amused at her own quip.

"You're pretty, Elphie—"

"—No I'm not—"

"—but when you don't smile, you look like you're thinking about stabbing someone in the eye with your fountain pen."

A sound came from the lift and it was Glinda's floor. The blond looked like she wanted to continue, but was forced to step out. She pulled at Elphaba's hand fondly, "Smile, alright?"

Elphaba grinned widely at Glinda, who rolled her eyes amusedly and waved goodbye. When she was alone again, she exhaled loudly. She could _try_ smiling a little more, but she spent most of her time in her office, _alone_. Meetings were done mostly through video conferences, and those rarely gave occasion for smiling.

She put her ruminations away when the lift _dinged_ and stepped out. The pantry was just a corner away from the lift, and Elphaba could hear her business strategy people laughing over something or another. She attempted to sneak a peek – knowing that if they saw her, they'd be scared back to their desks.

Boq had been with them, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and waving about a sharpie with the other. He was grinning, and telling a story about the girl he had went out with the other evening, and somehow it had involved some form of drawing on their body parts…

"—and then she— O-Oi, Elphie!" His eyes met hers and he called out. The other guys turned around immediately and flushed red at the sight of their boss standing by the entrance to the pantry.

Elphaba didn't understand why _they_ were the ones flushing – she's the one who should be embarrassed for being caught intruding on Boq's story. They quickly apologized to Boq and scrambled to return to their stations.

"Awh, you scared them off." Boq remarked sadly as he approached Elphie. He snapped out of it quickly enough as he fished out his smartphone and began informing her of her obligations for today. "I cleared your morning, so that you've got enough breathing room to catch up on the last 2 weeks."

Elphaba nodded idly as they walked to her office together, ignoring the terrified side glances from her employees. "Anything important I should know about?" She asked.

Boq raised a brow, "Everything involving you is important. Which ones in particular do you want to know about?"

"You're the P.A. Tell me what I'm supposed to know."

Boq made a face at her, but opened and held her door for her.

"Thank you, my lord." She jabbed playfully and made a beeline towards the pile of folders placed neatly on her desk.

Boq snorted and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him carefully. "You haven't replied Finance about the proposed budget restructuring. And Operations wants to know if they could go ahead for the annual Founder's Day party."

"I'll never understand why they keep wanting to rearranging our budget structure…" Elphaba muttered to no one in particular as she flipped through the monthly market operations report from Glinda.

"Do you want to speak to Flanders about it? I could squeeze him in in the afternoon." Boq offered helpfully as he sat himself on the armchair in the corner of the room, by the windows. There was a mini pantry there that he had installed himself for Elphaba. It was simply a small table with some satchels of tea and an electric water boiler.

Elphaba was already distracted as she sat in her chair and slipped on her glasses. "Forget about it. I'll send him an email."

"And Founder's Day?"

"What Founder's Day?"

Boq sighed, "Operations need your approval to begin planning for the Founder's Day ball."

This seemed to catch her attention as she looked up from her folder, looking like a school teacher with her bunned up hair, wire-rimmed glasses and white, pressed blouse.

" _Ball_? What era are we in? The 18th century?"

"It's just fancy word for a party, Elphie."

She stared at Boq blankly, "I know what a _ball_ is, Boq. Why do they need my approval? I don't recall having to do any approving last year."

"You don't recall it because _I_ had to reply on your behalf."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because you were 'too busy' with the Neverdale buyout last year and I had to plan the whole Founder's Day thing with Glinda's help."

"Do you think Glinda would hate me if I put her in-charge of Founder's Day?"

"You should discuss it with her yourself."

Elphaba pursed her lips, her eyes still glued to the papers, "Oh, but I really just wanted her to take the job. She's so much better than me at those things. Before we became friends, she once threw a party after midterms and got the actual beer brewery to sponsor the drinks. Can you imagine it? She managed to get a brewery to willingly sponsor a collage party!"

Boq raised a brow at her in astonishment, "That's pretty amazing. But still, you should ask her before deciding these things."

"Alright, fine." Elphaba conceded. "Is there anything else?"

"Lunch at the Old-Hen's café today? It's your first day back to the office after all."

"Technically, I was back yesterday." She commented distractedly, grabbing a highlighter from her holder and making little marks on the report.

"Doesn't count. After lunch at that Munchkinlander restaurant, you went off for the Press Conference at the Network Hub Expo." Boq argued.

"You know, if we were in the 18th century, I could get you stoned for talking back to your employer," Elphie said with a hint of playful delight in her voice.

"Good thing we're not in the 18th century then," Boq replied dryly. "Alright, I can tell that you're no longer with us. I'll come find you when it's time for lunch. Call me if you need me."

With a little wave, he left.

* * *

Elphaba found herself in better spirits now that she was back in her office. An hour had passed since Boq left her alone, and she had spent it looking through all the outstanding documents that she would rather throw into her shredder.

Tired of paper, she pulled them aside and chose to turn on her computer. When the stupid machine was finally booted up, Elphaba was immediately bombarded with a million and one emails asking her to _read_ something or to _approve_ something.

This is ridiculous. If the people in the company couldn't even make simple decisions without her input, how in high hell are they supposed to survive if she was somehow incapacitated? Or if she wanted to take an Oz damned holiday?

She sighed and exercised her fingers, getting herself ready to reply to the emails marked 'Urgent', and then she scowled when she realized that nearly _half_ of the emails in her inbox were marked 'Urgent'. Those bastards needed to understand what should be considered urgent and what were considered bullshit.

Slowly, she began to reply – angrily at first, and then dejectedly. There were just so much to do all the time. She felt like she was 80 years old and not 23 going 24 like her official records showed. On occasion, she would receive forwarded emails from Boq, for emails that were genuinely urgent and important that she replied right that instant.

She complained and bullied Boq all the time, but she was grateful for him. They had attended Shiz together, but she never met him until graduating year, where he approached her to help him ask out Glinda for the Graduating Class's Summer Rave.

Elphie did help him ask out Glinda, but she had also hung around when Glinda rejected him and made fun of him all throughout the ordeal. He had disliked her after that, but they got along swimmingly once he got over Glinda.

She didn't know why, but she liked Boq. She wasn't usually so nasty towards people, but Boq's personality and his demeanour towards her somehow made it feel okay. It was their special bond.

A notification rang out form her computer and an email was received. Furrowing her brows, Elphaba checked the sender and found that it was from Nessa. She glanced at the subject line – About Dad, it said. Elphaba wouldn't say that she was particularly worried, but she clicked on it anyway.

 _Fabala,  
I knew that you wouldn't open anything I sent you unless it had something to do with Dad._

Elphaba scowled at that. Tricked again!

 _In any case, it's about next Sunday's dinner. It's a formal thing and Dad's friends from congress are going to be there as well, so please for the Unnamed God's sake,_ _do not_ _arrive in sweatpants and your blasted 'I'm an atheist' t-shirt. I'd always have to put in another 2 hours of prayers for you whenever I see you in that stupid thing._

She giggled at the thought and seriously considered dressing up as Nessa described just to ruffle her feathers.

 _Remember, be on time. 7.30pm at Colwen Grounds. We made up your room in case you'd like to stay over. It's been much too long since you've been back in Munchkinland.  
Love and kisses,  
Nessarose_

Elphie let the contents of the email settle in her brain. The thought of being in the same room as her father, sister, and her father's friends in congress, made her stomach churn. It was the worst possible blend of people to be associate with, and yet she was obligated to participate. She had managed to go over a year without seeing her family, and now it has come to the point where Nessa had to blackmail her to go.

The unsettling feeling got to her stomach again, and Elphie stood up from her expensive faux-leather chair. She went over to the mini pantry and dumped the ginger tea mix into her mug. There were already some water in her boiler, so she just need to wait for the water to boil.

She glanced out the window and took it all in.

There was something amazing about being so high up above the streets of the Emerald City. She watched as a single bird dared to fly through the hustle and bustle of the business centre. Sometimes she dared to dream about leaping out from the wall of glass and onto a magic broom that she might use to fly off into the sunset. More often than it was healthy, she had actually, seriously, considered it.

And then something seemed to connect in her mind and she dared a glance over to the building opposite to her office. She had been curious about Glinda's mysterious date, and wondered who could be taking over Baldr Tiggular's office space. There was something funny about the two rival company CEOs being able to see each other every day when they simply looked out the window.

The office had been redecorated with a sleek forest green and wood brown theme. Elphaba found that she liked it very much. Her own office was panelled with expensive Quox Tree wood and gold accents everywhere.

Her Great-Grandfather was a man of classical tastes.

She didn't see anyone in the office at the moment, but she felt a strange sort of excitement at the anticipation. The boiler _dinged_ and her idle time was up. Elphaba poured the hot water over her tea mix and sighed as she returned to her duties.

* * *

Boq has been Elphaba's P.A for over 2 years now, ever since she took over the CEO position from her Great-Grandfather. It was a job he was surprised that he was good at, seeing that he majored in Agricultural Management – which had absolutely _nothing_ to do with his current position.

He had no reason to complain, really. He did his job well and he gets paid a monthly salary that had wildly exceeded what he would've made if he had simply went back to Munchkinland to take over the farm. Boq's father, Bfee – who happened to be Central Munch's Mayor – hadn't been particularly happy about that decision, but he had three other sons to take the farm, so it wasn't a great loss.

It was nice that Glinda had come on board as well, seeing that now it was the three of them more or less running this whole establishment. Boq kept Elphaba's big, brilliant brain on track, and Glinda made sure that Elphie didn't get overthrown in some kind of board of director's mutiny because she couldn't keep her mouth shut at important events.

Together, they kept Elphaba Thropp functioning and onwards to greatness.

There was – at some point – where Boq had been jealous of Elphaba's station in life. She was cursed with green skin, sure, but she was also born with a highly intelligent mind, with a rich as hell family and had Glinda Upland as a best friend. And, if you squinted and overlooked the green, Elphie's exotic sharp features was almost like a flawed kind of beauty.

A loud vibrating sound came from his phone and Boq blinked blankly at the screen. It was from Glinda, asking about lunch.

 _Received 11.20am  
GlindaU_: Whr r we headed 4 lunch?

 _Sent 11.20am  
BoqF_: I told Elphie Old-Hen's.

 _Received 11.22am  
GlindaU_: K. I'll pick her up at her office.

Boq replied with an 'okay' and returned to his desktop, slightly distracted by the Business Strategy boys tossing a rugby ball around. He wasn't lucky enough to get his own office, but he had his own space that was cleared out for him. Elphie's door would be right behind him and he didn't need to squeeze into one of the depressing looking cubicles.

"Hey, Boq?"

He looked up and found himself staring at a pretty girl, pale skinned with short, dark brown hair. Instantly, he realized who she was.

"Milla? Did you need something?" He asked. He'd never really had the opportunity to talk to her. They had only spoken once, when he had gone out for dinner with some of the others on this floor. She was fairly new, and the only thing he really knew about her was that she was a graduate from Shiz as well.

Milla shook her head, her hair bouncing slightly, "Sorry, I just wanted to know if you'd be interested in signing Vanor's birthday card? I know you don't really know him very well, but he just got divorced and we're trying to cheer him up a little…"

Boq's brows rose. "Vanor got divorced? Oz damn… I just saw him with the kids a month ago!"

Milla shrugged lightly with an awkward laugh, "I guess things changed. I didn't have the heart to ask him why. Nobody did." She then waved the birthday card playfully, "So, you in?"

"Sure, sure." Boq fished for a pen, but settled for the sharpie he had lying around. He uncapped the pen and scribbled a little something on the card. "There." He said finally with a small grin.

Milla smiled, and Boq only now noticed the tiny dimples on her cheeks. "Thanks!"

"You're very welcome," he beamed.

She seemed to linger for a bit, the two of them just smiling at each other, and Boq found that he didn't mind it. Finally, she mentioned that she was needed back at her area and she went away. Boq stared after her and wondered.

* * *

"This seems like a rather dry affair," Elphaba complained as she eyed the cross section of her tofu burrito. She had taken the first bite but moaned that it tasted like sandpaper on her tongue.

Glinda snorted, and then flushed at her own unladylike behaviour. Boq scrunched his nose and scowled at Elphie when she waved the burrito to his face, egging him to take a bite.

"That's what you get for buying a _Tofu_ burrito." He chose to resume to his own meal and cut a piece of the chicken with a grin. "I love bacon and chicken too much to go vegan."

The three of them had situated themselves at the Old-Hen's café. It was a classy place with decent food and an ever changing menu. It was also one of the only places near the Thropp building that served vegan alternatives.

Elphaba made animal noises again as she chewed her burrito with a grimace. "The wrap tastes like cardboard."

"Then stop eating it and get a salad or something," Glinda sighed exasperatedly. Really, she felt like a single mother bringing her headstrong child out for lunch.

"I paid good money for this!"

"Why would you care? You're rich." Glinda swatted at Elphaba to drop the burrito, but the green lady coiled back in defence.

"There are starving children in the Ugabu who don't have any food to eat, I can't waste food!" She shoved the burrito in her mouth again and tore off a chunk, forcing herself to swallow the dry mess to make a point for Glinda.

"Then don't complain about how dry it is!" The blond Frottican huffed. She then glared weakly at Boq when she heard the sound of his chuckling. When the munchkin realized that he would get in trouble if he didn't stop, he occupied with mouth with chewing his food.

They finished their lunch and ordered some coffee. Elphaba was careful not to spill any of the stuff on her white blouse, grumbling all the while that she hated wearing white for this very reason. Boq ordered a vanilla latte frappe and was happily sipping it from a straw. Glinda settled for a frosted mocha frappe with whipped cream and extra sprinkles.

"It's not like the sprinkles make the drink taste any different," Elphaba raised a curious brow at her friend as she sipped her own americano.

Glinda closed her eyes in bliss as she sipped hers, "Says the girl who's basically drinking watered down espresso."

Elphaba parted her lips to say something witty, but paused and relented when she conceded that she had been beat. She was drinking an espresso lite and there was nothing she could say to redeem herself for that.

Boq kicked Elphaba on the shin under the table, and she barely hid the yelp.

"What was that for?" She frowned at him.

"Ask her about the thing." He said vaguely and wriggled his brows at her.

Elphaba looked at him strangely and knotted her brows together in mild confusion. Boq kept tilting his head towards Glinda, who was occupied by her phone and checking her twitter updates. Finally, Glinda looked up at raised a brow at the sight.

"Boq, why is Elphie staring at you like you've grown a second head?"

Boq exhaled deeply, and shot Elphaba a look. He mouthed 'Founders' at her and finally it clicked in her head.

"Oh that! Why didn't you just say so?" Elphie rolled her eyes. She turned to Glinda, "Glin, could you take charge of the Founder's Day thing?"

Glinda seemed surprised as her eyes went wide. "Founder's Day? Isn't Operations in charge of that?"

"Yeah, well. They keep asking me if this is okay or if that is within the budget. Those louts wouldn't be able to tell their heads from their asses if nobody pointed it out to them. They need someone to lead them."

"And as CEO…"

Elphaba made a face. "I have things to do. Places to be. Children to terrify."

Glinda sighed, "Elphie. I have my own things to handle too. I'm not the Marketing Director for nothing, and we've got a press conference to unveil the new Media Network branch next month."

Elphaba frowned, not angrily but like a scolded child. She then turned to Boq, "When _is_ Founder's Day anyway?"

"We're celebrating the founding of your family's blood, sweat and tears and you, Elphaba the Thropp Third Descending, does not know when Founder's Day is?" The munchkin looked at her with amused astonishment.

Elphie coiled back, "Did you two plan this? Did you ask me out for lunch just to corner me?"

Glinda laughed, her voice was bubbly and cheerful. "You can be so dramatic some times."

"Counting today, we've got exactly 5 weeks to plan the whole thing. It's not much time, considering the scale of it. We'll have to decide on who to call and estimate the number of people…" Boq trailed off as he began calculating in his head.

Elphaba was surprised. "We have to invite other people? I thought this was just a company thing."

"We've been doing this for 2 years, and you, yourself, have attended previous years! Elphie, have you taken a blow to the head recently?" Glinda was taken aback by her bestfriend's ignorance of her own family traditions.

The green lady pursed her lips, as if in deep thought. "Hrmph. Alright. I suppose I'd have to take this stupid thing more seriously than I previously thought..."

"Thank you." Boq said, and he pulled out his smartphone. "Elphie, we should get back. You're due for a meeting with the Teahaus Group."

"Augh. Them."

"Duty calls, our dear leader." Glinda smiled and stood from her seat, urging the grumbling green lady to do the same. "Come on, get up. You're behaving like a child and nothing like a CEO!"

"Isn't that part of my charm? My childlike wonder?" Elphaba smirked but only received an exhausted eye roll. "Alright fine!" She got off her butt and grudgingly followed them back to her office.

* * *

 **A/N** There's always multiple sides to a person, and Elphaba is no exception. We'll be jumping back to Fiyero and his antics in the next chapter. Stay tuned!  
AstridElsa99 - Hmm. Not really what I was going with but it is certainly inspired by one of the classic literatures ;)  
elphfaeba - Thanks! I hope you're still into my Elphaba characterization after reading _this_ chapter lol. We'll get more into her head when things start brewing.  
HC247 - Hey! I'm glad you're here! :) Oh, there will definitely be a row once these two idiots finally get to meet each other for real. :P


	4. Chapter 4

**4.**

It was late into the afternoon when Fiyero had finally had the chance to sit in his office. There were problems coming in left and right with their IT department and proposals and emails were getting delayed because of the technical difficulties. He had to spend the entire day walking up and down the building to get the reports he was due in person.

"You _could_ just get Brr to do it for you, y'know. That's what are for?" Crope commented, his eyes were focused on his twitter feed however.

"Call the kid Bryan," Tibbett sighed as he checked his hair in the reflection from the window. "I don't think he really likes it when we call him Brr."

Crope shrugged lightly, "He should've mentioned it then. Nobody's gonna know what he's thinking if he doesn't speak up."

"He's just a kid," Tibbett frowned, pulling out a damaged, curly black hair from his head.

Fiyero was sitting at his desk with his eyes closed and his finger intertwined, laying neatly on his stomach. He chose to ignore his friends' chattering and just let the day's events sit in his brain. He was going to have to reply the more important emails from his laptop at home, since he didn't really get to do any work today. The IT department had been working round the clock to figure out what had happened and if it were an attack on the company network.

His brother had been fraying his nerves trying to work around the network blockage today, and his stress had been felt by the entire management committee. Fiyero's throat parched at the thought and his finger twitched for the feeling of a shot glass in his hands.

"… Well, would you look at that – Isn't that Elphaba Thropp strolling about in that office over there?" Tibbett squinted into the distance through the window.

Upon hearing that, Fiyero leapt up in shock, "W-What?!"

Crope, now curious and not about to be left out, came up behind Tibbett and chuckled evilly, "It is! Fiyero, you never told us that you're next door neighbours with the CEO of Thropp Co?"

The russet-haired playboy stared wide eyed at the office opposite to his. It was true – the green woman was dressed in a white blouse and a grey skirt. If he really squinted, he could see the wire-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. She was pacing back and forth, holding a tablet and chewing on the butt of the stylus.

It was a strange sight.

"I didn't know it was her office." He finally managed to say. His friends made unbelieving noises, but left it at that. They were too preoccupied with watching the green woman pace. Fiyero couldn't pull himself away either.

It was just the way she walked and the way she held herself – it seemed to draw them in. All for different reasons it seemed. Tibbett was making a strange face while Crope seemed ready to fall in love. Fiyero was repulsed, for sure. She looked like a school teacher with her exotic black hair all bunned up and her glasses seeming ready to fall off her nose at any moment. He wasn't into that.

He liked perky blond girls with pretty blue eyes.

"Maybe it's the skin, I don't know. I'm digging it." Crope said with finality as he pulled away from the spectacle.

Fiyero cocked an eyebrow, "I thought you were gay?"

Crope scoffed. "Labels!"

"I'm not too sure what I feel," Tibbett shrugged and pulled away as well. He shoved his hands into his pockets and pointed his chin at the CFO. "Thoughts on Green Girl?"

Fiyero, who was still standing by the window, blinked once – and then again. He turned to his friends, "Not my type. I'm a tits guy. She's flat as a runway."

"You're disgusting," Tibbett shook his head, shooting a disappointed frown at him.

"Ah well." He shrugged as if it hadn't affected him.

"So what's up with you and the hot blond chick?" Crope asked, bored of their current topic already.

Fiyero grinned boyishly, "Not yet. I'm waiting three days before calling her."

"I thought you said that you were going to ask her out for lunch today?" Crope fished for a piece of gum from his pockets.

Fiyero shrugged lightly, "I got overexcited. I can't break the three day rule for anyone. Not even Miss Glinda Upland."

"You really _are_ a cad," Tibbett rolled his eyes.

"You're being awfully touchy today, aren't you?" Crope raised a perfectly groomed brow. He'd made himself comfortable in one of the arm chairs pushed up against the wall.

Tibbett made a little noise, but said nothing more. Fiyero watched his friend curiously, "You okay, Tibby?"

The dark haired man shrugged lightly, and smiled, "Nothing. Just tired, I suppose. It's been a long day."

* * *

It was exactly 3 days later that Fiyero called her.

He sat in his chair, leaning back comfortably as he tapped 'call' on the contact in his phone. He glanced out his window, watching the green woman opposite to him typing hurriedly on her desktop. He wondered briefly what she might be doing.

"Hi! Can I ask who's calling?" A sweet, perky voice came from the phone.

Fiyero felt his lips curl into a smile, "Hey! It's Fiyero."

There was a pause, but Glinda picked it up immediately. "Oh hey! So you're one of those 'wait 3 days' guys huh?"

"N'aw. It got a little busy here." He lied smoothly. "I'll really like to see you again though."

Glinda laughed lightly. He could hear fingers on a keyboard in the background.

"I could do lunch." She said with meaning. He could almost hear the suggestive smile on her lips.

"Sure. I'll wait for you at the Thropp Co. reception area?"

"Yeah. I'll see you in a few."

Fiyero waited a couple of seconds before hanging up. He grinned stupidly at his phone and quickly made reservations at a restaurant a few blocks away. From the corner of his eye, he could see Elphaba getting up from her seat and throwing on her blazer. Again, he wondered where she might be going, and thought that maybe she had a lunch date too.

He wouldn't say that it was too farfetched an idea. She _was_ a CEO of a hugely successful company after all… Perhaps she's got a boyfriend? He watched her until she closed the door behind her.

Curious now, Fiyero logged into his desktop and began searching.

 _Elphaba Thropp_

The first thing that came up was the Ozpedia page that Tibbett had shoved in his face the other day. He scrolled down but found nothing on her personal life, just a whole list of her achievements and her life back in Munchkinland as the daughter of a Unionist pastor.

He then typed in ' _Elphaba Thropp Boyfriend_ ' and hit enter.

Again, nothing relevant came up.

He went on the images tab and was surprised to find that many of the photos of her were accompanied by Glinda and that munchkin guy he met the other day. Rarely did any of the photos depicted her talking or smiling at all, instead, it was mostly Glinda interacting with people and the munchkin man whispering something to Elphaba.

The way he was holding the tablet in his hands, Fiyero realized instantly that he was probably her Personal Assistant, and Glinda her PR agent.

There was something about the way Elphaba stood that gave Fiyero the feeling that she would be difficult to associate with. He only hoped that his going out with Glinda wouldn't put him in her path. There was nothing less he liked than to pretend to like someone – it had always left this irksome feeling in his chest.

He had to admit that she'd got alluring cheekbones however, and her jawline was sharp enough to cut diamonds – but of course, she wasn't pretty enough to tempt him. Not at all! It was just that she's got rather exotic features.

A text from Crope shook him from his internet stalking.

 _Received 12.50pm  
CropeB_: Yo! Lunch today?

Fiyero replied quickly.

 _Sent 12.51pm  
FiyeroT_: Nope. Lunch date w/Glinda

Crope sent him a cactus and Fiyero laughed.

* * *

"This is interesting—"Glinda gasped as Fiyero nibbled on her neck and kissed a trail down to her collarbone. He grinned against her skin and pulled her closer, feeling up her skirt with one hand and supporting her neck with the other.

The empty stairwell in the Thropp building was not a particularly _safe_ place to be doing what they were doing right now, but Glinda didn't seem to mind as her hands roamed his chiselled chest and massaged into his hair.

"Do you do this with every girl you take out for the first time, Mr Tiggular?"She asked breathily as he worked his magic.

Fiyero grinned – very pleased that at the drop of his last name, Glinda had suddenly seemed very, _very_ interested in spending more time together. Being a Tiggular had its uses after all.

He kissed his way up to her lips, and when they finally pulled away from each other for breath, he retracted his hands from where they were and placed them neatly on her hips.

Glinda seemed disappointed and he chuckled, truly enamoured by her blue eyes.

"I don't usually do that with girls I take out for the first time," he placed a small kiss on the corner of her lips, effectively distracting Glinda from his lie. "You're different, and special. To be honest, you're kind of perfect."

That last part hadn't been _that_ much of a lie. Glinda was a smart, beautiful woman. He'd found out through their small talk that she was the Marketing _Director_ for Thropp Co. and was very, _very_ single at the moment. She was sweet, dainty and good-natured – which was something that he couldn't say about many of the girls who threw themselves at him. Plus, she could handle herself in her work. He liked that in a person.

"You know, I've been thinking the same thing about you," Glinda smiled prettily and gave him a sweet peck on his lips.

There were suddenly echoes coming from upstairs and the two quickly disengaged from each other, patting themselves down and rearranging their clothes and hair. They glanced mischievously at each other and he offered his arm as they exited. Not many people were around the lobby when they had entered, but there were enough eyes on them for the gossip and news to spread.

In just 2 hours, the entire Thropp building had known that Glinda Upland had went out with Fiyero Tiggular – the CFO and playboy son to the Arjiki Chairman Magnus Tiggular. And by the end of day, the rest of Arjiki Tradings had heard about their CFO snagging the brightest shining star in their competitor's building opposite to them.

It had been a good Friday.

* * *

The next day, Fiyero spent his day helping Crope and Tibbett move into their new apartment in the Sapphire District. Their new place would be a much further drive to the office, but it had been worth it for the neighbourhood.

As he rolled his red flannel shirt sleeves to his elbows and helped carry the couch out of the truck, Fiyero had the luxury to observe the daily happenings along the small street. The neighbourhood had been a little bit outside of the centre of the city, and because of that it was quieter.

The Sapphire District was a small area with townhouses lining the entire stretch of Baum Road. It was also known to be the 'artisan district', because of the large population of hipsters and the artisan's hub down Elena Avenue that was directly connected to Baum Road.

There were all sorts of people living in the area and frankly, Fiyero found it stimulating.

By mid-afternoon, they had managed to carry all of the large items out of the truck and up the apartment. Tibbett – dressed in shorts and a grey loose tee – had been playing soft jazz on the standing piano that was pushed up against the wall while Crope – mustard berms and black shirt – made sandwiches. Fiyero screwed in the final bolt on the room-mates' new bookshelf and released a celebratory 'whoop!'

The apartment was still a mess, of course, and less than half of the items were where they were supposed to be – but with the midday sun shining in brightly and the sound of Tibbett's expert playing, it felt like home.

"Have you considered dropping the corporate stuff and just go play in a jazz club somewhere?" Fiyero asked cheekily as he swiped a sandwich from the plate the Crope had offered him. Toasted ham and cheese – delicious.

Tibbett peeked with one eye open at his friend and smirked, but decided not to give his friend an answer and instead, continued playing with more gusto. Crope laughed and placed the plate on top of the piano, stuffing one of the sandwiches in his mouth as he did so.

"He can't leave me. It's been 'Crope and Tibbett' since middle school." The blond ran a hand through his wavy locks and squinted, "Hrmm. I gotta get my hair cut."

"Try 'Downtown Cuts'. I know a guy – great with wavy hair."Fiyero got up from his comfortable sprawl on the cushions in the furry rug and picked another sandwich off the plate, now leaning his elbow on the top of the piano.

"How would _you_ know if he's good with wavy hair? I've never seen hair straighter than yours!" Crope picked a piece of lint off of his shirt and flicked it at Fiyero.

The vinkun waved his hand dismissively, "I knew his sister."

"Did you _sleep_ with the sister?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not getting my hair cut there."

Finally, Tibbett seemed to be done with the piano and he grabbed the last sandwich off the plate. "So how was your date with Miss Upland yesterday?" he asked casually.

At that, Crope seemed to get excited again and grabbed a cushion from the floor, hugging it to his chest like a child waiting to be regaled with a bedtime story.

Fiyero shrugged, "She was better than I expected. Beautiful as well as smart."

Tibbett raised a brow as he chewed, "Do you like her?"

"Dude, I just told you that she's beautiful and smart - of course I like her." He looked at his friend curiously.

"I think what Tibby's getting at is if you felt the thing." Crope added helpfully while Tibbett nodded.

"What thing? I felt _up_ her thing, if that's what you're—"

"—Okay, ew."Crope threw his cushion at Fiyero.

Tibbett rolled his eyes, "We meant like the tingling feeling when you look at them. Are you excited to spend time with them? Are you really interested to know how their day went? Shit like that!"

Fiyero was genuinely confused, "I mean _sure_ I wanna see her again. I'm not in _love_ with her if that's what you're getting at."

"Sometimes I worry about you, Yero." Crope sighed wistfully and Tibbett nodded.

"What? Why?"

Tibbett picked up the plate and made his way towards the kitchenette. "It's a dangerous game you're playing, Fiyero. She's the Marketing Director at Thropp Co. – and one of their CEO's closest friends. If you're not feeling it, you better cut loose before she gets the wrong idea. Don't leave it until one of you gets too invested and everyone else gets burned in the fire."

Fiyero blinked slowly – and then felt real concern for his friend. That statement sounded a little gloomier than what he had expected from the ever cheerful Tibbett. Crope hadn't seemed to notice as he went ahead to clean up the room, humming a tune as he did.

The vinkun walked into the kitchenette and leaned against the counter, folding his arms, "Tibbett. Are you okay?"

The dark haired man turned the faucet on as he began washing the dishes, not looking up at his friend at all. "I'm fine, what are you talking about?"

"I don't know. You just seem really on edge recently."

He cleaned off the plate and turned off the water, glancing over to Fiyero. There was something sad beyond his eyes, but he quickly masked it with a toothy grin, "There. See. I'm fine. All smiles and happy!"

Fiyero exhaled evenly and pulled away from the counter, "You'll talk to me if you're not okay, right?"

Tibbett simply laughed, but he did seemed relieved at Fiyero's suggestion. "You're the first person I'll go to if there's really something going on with me. Now stop being such a worry wort and help poor Crope with that cabinet."

Fiyero furrowed his brows, but forced a smile for his friend. He plucked a kiss on Tibbett's jaw playfully and returned to the living area to help build the silly thing.

In a second, Fiyero had returned to joking about everything under the sun and bantering with Crope – and Tibbett when he came back out – but at the back of his mind, he couldn't help but feel uneasy that something seemed to be wrong.

* * *

Faster than he had preferred, Monday came by.

Fiyero had a system when it came to his office life. He would drive to the Arjiki building to park his car, and then he would talk a short 5 minute walk to Old-Hen's to pick up a cup of coffee before starting his day. What was special about this boring routine was that he would never order the same thing in a week.

If on Monday he bought a latte, he wouldn't buy the same thing until perhaps the next week Thursday. It was something that kept him sane. His stomach complained occasionally, but he was vinkun – vinkuns were known for their tums of steel. Or at least, that was what he liked to believe as he ordered a ruffleflower spiced mocha. Lurline knows what in the world a _ruffleflower_ was.

He waited by the counter, distractedly folding his receipt into a crane. There hadn't been any interesting characters in the café today and there seemed to be a problem with the espresso machine, causing the customers to pile and fluster.

There _were_ one or two pretty enough office ladies who would cast shy glances towards Fiyero, perhaps hoping that he might be their one true love who would ask for their number on this fateful day when the espresso machine was down.

Just to humour them, he winked flirtatiously and smiled, showing off his naturally straight teeth.

Finally, after what felt like forever, his name was called and he got his coffee. He made his way to exit and took a sip from his cup – flinching at the strong _aroma_ of the ruffleflower.

Admittedly, the strength of the coffee and the _sensational_ taste had distracted Fiyero somewhat as he flung the door open without looking – tripped on the step he forgot had been there – and threw the entire contents of his cup on top of the unsuspecting creature who'd had one hand reaching for the handle and was now _soaked_ in ruffleflower spiced mocha.

There had been a tight gasp, although not from the coffee-soaked victim.

In a painfully belated second, Fiyero finally regained his senses and realized that he was now staring at a hazel eyed, green skinned woman by the name of Elphaba Thropp.

* * *

 **A/N** _Great_ first impression for Fiyero and Elphaba ;)  
RavenCurls - Haha! I'm not basing it on Romeo and Juliet butI'm not promising the no deaths thing though -moon face emoji-  
Boq in a pencil skirt?! You're a genius. I'm going to make that happen.  
HC247 - Oh god, the pressure. Hopefully it won't be too disappointing in the next chapter :P  
Guest & guest - Whoohoo! New chapter! Hope you guys are still reading!  
Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - Thanks! And it's more or less guaranteed that his life won't be quite so in his control once Elphaba is introduced into his life. :P


	5. Chapter 5

**5.**

"… Alright out with it."

Glinda blinked blankly at her bestfriend, "What? What are you mumbling about now?"

Elphaba reached up to run her fingers through her hair, but managed to stop herself – remembering how obnoxious it had been to try to get that thick mess into a proper braid. "You haven't said a word about that stupid date of yours. And I know you. Usually when you have a new man in your life, you can't stop talking about it. But now you're all secretive and nonchalant. I don't like it."

"You don't like that I've finally stopped being so self-obsessed?" Glinda raised a brow amusedly as the two walked down the street towards the Old-Hen café.

"I don't like that you're secretive and nonchalant." Elphaba turned her face away from Glinda, "That's _my_ thing."

For some reason that was totally beyond Elphaba, Glinda laughed.

"You're adorable when you try to pretend that you don't care," she giggled and gave her dermatologically-challenged friend a quick side hug. "And since you've asked so nicely, I'll come by your office later to indulge in your secret desire to know what's happening in my life."

"Oh god, I've opened some kind of gate, haven't I?"

Glinda chose to ignore that. "I'll tell you this – his name is Fiyero _Tiggular_. He's the second Tiggular son and he's the CFO for Arjiki Tradings."

" _Fiyero_ Tiggular? Why does that name sound so familiar…? Wait," Elphaba stared incredulously at her friend, "Wasn't he the one who go kicked off into rehab that same year we came into the company? There'd been that whole thing at Arkiji's."

Glinda blushed slightly at the reminder, "Y-Yeah… He's good now though."

Elphaba wasn't so sure, but she said nothing.

"Oh don't give me that look," the Frottican frowned prettily.

"What? I'm not giving you a look. I'm not even looking at you."

"For my sake," Glinda paused right outside the café and held Elphaba's hands in hers, "Just give him a chance. Please, Elphie?" She pouted.

Elphaba scowled – but only on the outside. On the inside, she had already softened when Glinda took her hands. Maybe it was something that had been ingrained into her because she was never really embraced as a child, but she had always struggled to stay stubborn when Glinda took to holding her hands or hugging her.

"Fine." She said finally, and gave the blond a small, reassuring smile. She reached out for the door handle, but it was suddenly yanked out of her reach by someone on the other side of the door, and the next thing she knew, her entire torso had been soaked through with hot coffee… Oh no – _aromatic_ hot coffee.

Glinda gasped and had instinctively skipped back, which had been a good call – since she was dressed in white, head to toe. Brown splatter stains wouldn't have looked very well on her.

Brown coffee dribbling down on green skin hadn't looked particularly pleasing either.

Elphaba hadn't given a damn about that though. She couldn't care less about the staining, rather, she was more preoccupied with the thought of receiving second degree burns. For a dreadful second, her body was stuck there in that position, not knowing what to do with herself, with her one hand reaching out for the door.

She looked up slowly, her eyes staring back at forest green eyes that were widened in shock. He was a handsome man – strong jaws, straight nose, alluring eyes – but it was all she could process before Glinda finally broke the heavy silence.

"Fiyero!"

Elphaba found herself recoiling. _This_ was Fiyero? Glinda's oh-so-perfect Fiyero Tiggular? Again, and for the second time in less than 5 minutes, Elphaba didn't know what to do with herself.

He parted his lips to say something – and she just realized he'd had lips like Cupid 's bow – and suddenly the word simply escaped her mouth without her permission. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Fiyero coiled back, stunned, and then angry. "Well, I was just about to apologize to you – you didn't need to be a _bitch_ about it."

" _What_ did you call me?" Elphaba narrowed her eyes, and she could tell that he'd already regretted saying the word.

"I won't repeat what I said, I'm sure you've heard it all before anyway." He said thinly.

"Listen here, you – you _asshat_ —"she growled, clenching her fists, " _You're_ the one who threw an entire cups worth of hot coffee on me, and you won't even _apologize_? So I'm going to repeat my earlier inquiry and ask – what the hell is wrong with you?!"

His eyes widened, and his brows shot up, "What's wrong with _ME_?" Fiyero scoffed, "I was _going_ to apologize but I was interrupted by you _yelling_ at me! And I don't particularly like apologizing to people who yell at me—"

"—oh, so just because your fragile ego was hurt by my _very justified_ yelling, you won't _apologize_?! Well aren't you a sweet man!"

"Elphie, please!" Glinda pleaded.

Elphaba stared at her friend, astonished, "You can't possibly take this _asshat's_ side, Glin!"

"I mean – I'm not, but—"

Fiyero stepped towards Glinda and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Look, don't worry about it, Glinda." He smiled charmingly, although Elphaba could see that it had taken a lot from him to force it out. "I'm just sorry that you're friends with this neurotic _psycho_." He turned and narrowed his eyes at her. "Lurline knows how Thropp Co. got to become so successful with a person like _her_ as CEO."

"Maybe it's because I'm actually _sober_ and _competent_ —"

"—LURLINE'S BALLS — you're really something else, aren't you?!" He snapped his head towards her, gritting his teeth, "The last thing I want to do is to apologize to you – freakin' baby ozma – I didn't even see you coming – it was a bleeping _accident –"_

"You didn't SEE me?" Elphaba mocked dramatically and gestured to herself, "In case you haven't freakin' noticed – I'M GREEN."

"Yeah, lovely shade by the way," he taunted heatedly, leaning his face towards her as if to intimidate. Obviously he didn't know Elphaba very well because instinctively, she leaned in as well in rebellion.

The two of them glared daggers at each other with their noses nearly touching, neither willing to be the first to turn away.

This was it.

It was hate at first sight.

They would hate each other for the rest of their lives.

Arjiki Tradings and Thropp Co. would never work with each other.

Finally, a flustered Glinda stepped in between them and pulled Elphaba aside, "Elphie, come on! You're making a scene." She said to her in a hushed voice. Sure enough, the customers in the café had all turned their heads towards the door, watching and sipping coffee.

"Yeah, _Elphie_." Fiyero narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. This earn him a glare from Glinda.

"Fiyero, enough." She shot back furiously, "I'll talk to you later. But seriously, what's _wrong_ with you?!"

"ME?" He seemed genuinely distressed and coiled back when Glinda turned on him.

"Not so confident now, huh." Elphaba goaded.

Fiyero ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm himself, "You're freakin' impossible—"

"—how are _you_ any better, you—"

"BOTH OF YOU."

The two of them snapped their heads towards Glinda simultaneously and all but shouted, "WHAT."

"Elphaba Thropp – You are behaving like a 12 year old, and enough is enough!" At Fiyero's triumphant smirk, Glinda glared, "And YOU. I expected more from you, Fiyero. You spilled coffee, that's fine, you could've just apologized and moved on. Why'd you have to go _provoke_ her?!"

"I—"

"No, you're both done talking." Glinda growled, and pulled at Elphaba's hand, " _You_ are coming back to the office with me."

* * *

Boq had never seen Elphie quite so pissed off before.

Not when they found out that Renovault Corp tried to send a corporate spy into the company, and not even when she and Glinda had that big fight over using real leather in one of the media campaigns for one of the many fashion subsidiaries under the Thropp Co. portfolio.

Oh no – this was different.

This was a broiling sort of anger – something or some _one_ had gotten right under her skin this morning, and he'd have to guess that it was beyond a simple coffee spill. He'd seen coffee-spill Elphie before, and it was _nothing_ like the growling – snappy woman stalking around her office right now.

He had only just gotten back from buying Elphie a new blouse and skirt with that special card he had for exactly situations like these. She went and got a shower on the finance floor and then changed into her new clothes, and she stormed back into her office without so much as acknowledging her employees – who mostly cowered away anyway.

"I don't get what Glinda sees in that guy – I mean REALLY. Just because I reacted the way I did and it hurt his stupid ego –"

Elphaba continued rambling for a while. Boq simply sat on the arm chair by the window, nodding occasionally and sipping ginger tea. Finally, when it seemed like she was finally done, Boq asked, "So. Have you gone through that list of people I forwarded you about Founder's Day?"

"What list?" She snapped – the residual anger from before still present.

Boq fidgeted with the clips of his suspenders, "You'll only need to know Tenmeadews, Central Munch Company, Gale & Sons, Emerald Times, Bon Cavalish Group, Three Queens – that's the theatre people – and Arjiki Tradings."

Elphaba stuck her tongue out at the mention of Arjiki.

"Play nice, Elphie."The munchkin stood up and collected the dirtied cups gathered at the pantry, "No matter how much you dislike it, business is business, and we've still got to deal with Baldr Tiggular. Who knows? Maybe Fiyero would be just as disgusted with you as you are him, and he might not even show up."

"Maybe if I willed it hard enough, I might be able to glare him to death from my window." She walked over to the wall of glass and mumbled under her breath as she stared over at the other side of the street.

"One can only hope," Boq snorted. He walked over to her and followed her line of sight.

The owner of the office was sitting on his chair, slouching – really – and doing something tedious looking on his computer. His face was slightly angled away from them, but Boq could still see the look of boredom on the CFO's face.

And then, as if he'd sensed them watching him, Fiyero glanced over and zeroed in on Elphie.

Boq watched with morbid curiosity – and perhaps a splash of amusement – as the two glowered at each other, both refusing to be the first to look away – as if it were some sort of glaring contest.

Elphaba scowled unattractively, and Fiyero grimaced – although it seemed to Boq that no matter what Fiyero did with his face, he'd still look handsome doing it.

Finally, the vinkun turned away and stood from his desk. He turned his computer to hibernate and walked out of his office. Boq observed the look of triumph on Elphaba's face, but only briefly, because she turned away as well, muttering about having spent too much time playing stupid mind games with stupid russet-haired bastards.

* * *

Hours later, after lunch, Boq found himself sitting in Elphaba's office as she very quickly focussed her attentions on her work on the computer. Many times, he used opportunities like these to observe Elphaba in her natural environment.

When she was focussed, she could care less about what was happening around her. This included replying to messages on her phone or picking up calls. If Boq had needed to get her to go something or to head off somewhere where she was expected, he would have to physically step into office.

As a result, he ended up spending a lot of his time sitting around and waiting for her to finish something or another. Today was no different, and he had allowed Elphaba 10 minutes before they had to head off for a meeting in the Upper Denslow District.

"What do you think about me and Milla?" he asked idly.

Elphaba did not look up from drafting her email, "You mean 'Milla and I'."

"What? Why – what's going on with Milla and you?" Boq sat up straighter, flustered and frowning.

Elphaba rolled her eyes, "Forget it. Why'd you ask? Who's Milla?"

"The cute Gillikinese girl from Business Strategies. You can't miss her – short brown hair. Brown eyes…"

"You know how I feel about fraternizing." Elphaba raised a brow at him, looking all the more like a teacher scolding a student.

"Yeah well," Boq deflated, "A guy could dream. She's probably not into munchkin guys anyway. Did you know she went to Shiz as well? It's such a small world."

Elphaba made a noise, and then returned to her emails.

A few minutes later, she sighed and removed her glasses from the bridge of her nose, "You're still here?"

"Maybe you ought to start dating."

"Where did _that_ come from?" Elphaba narrowed her eyes.

Boq shrugged, "If you knew what it felt like to be attracted to someone, maybe you'll think about loosening up with the fraternization rule. It's hard for office drones to meet someone around our age and is still single."

"Yeah, well I don't want people humping in the copy room, so no – no fraternization." She wiped the lenses of her glasses with her blouse and pushed them back on her nose. "This is a workplace, not the set of 'The Bachelorette'."

Boq scoffed.

"Why are you still sitting here?"

"Sometimes, Elphie, you should consider having a sense of whimsy. It's not good to be constantly serious and oppressive."

"What are you talking about? I'm always such fun at parties." She replied dryly, her eyes glued to the computer screen. "You know, for a person whose only job is to keep me on track with my tasks, you really are skilled at distracting me with useless arguments—"

"—we're due for the meeting. Time to go."

She frowned, "That's not fair – you distracted me with your nonsense. I'm owed another 10 minutes."

"Too bad," he smiled sardonically – and then a little more seriously, "Come on. We're already 5 minutes late."

"Ass."

"Love you too."

* * *

On Saturday, Glinda spent the afternoon at Elphaba's place.

"How many days are you planning on spending there?" she asked as she watched Elphaba throw random pieces of clothing into her tiny luggage. There didn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to her choosing of things to bring.

"I bought a ticket for Sunday night."

"You're not even going to spend the night?" Glinda's eyes widened at the thought. She had known all through University that Elphaba had a strained relationship with her family back home, but this was ridiculous. "You're flying in 4 hours – you haven't packed and you haven't showered. And then you want to fly out immediately after your obligations are done?"

"Hmm. You're right. I shouldn't need all these. Just something to change." She removed everything but a set of casual clothes, her book, and a charger for her phone. "… Oh look, I don't need a luggage. I'll just bring a backpack."

She then tossed everything into a weathered backpack and smiled, obviously very proud of herself.

Glinda sighed, worried for Elphaba and her nonchalance over the dinner party that she was to attend at Colwen Grounds tomorrow evening. She had known that her former room-mate's father was a stout, right wing politician in his younger days. After Elphaba was born, he retired from politics and threw himself into religion – working as a pastor to preach the agenda of the Unnamed God.

It was said that his decent into religious fervour had been because of Elphaba's skin colour, although Glinda had never discussed it with Elphaba out of respect for her friend.

Suddenly, a sound came from her phone. Glinda – who'd been sitting on Elphaba's bed – reached for her phone on the bedside table. She pressed on the home button and saw that it was text message from Fiyero.

"Twitter?" Elphie asked as she rummaged through her dresser for appropriate plane clothes to change into after her shower.

Glinda sighed, and turned her phone to sleep, "Fiyero. He's just anxious because I haven't talked to him since we argued over that coffee incident on Monday evening."

"Did you defend my honour?" Elphaba quipped lightly, although Glinda could see that the mention of Fiyero's name had put her on edge. She really, _really_ disliked him.

"He behaved like an idiot." Glinda admitted. "It's such a shame. He's so pretty too." She sighed dramatically and laid down on the bed. "Maybe I'm doomed to date pretty boy assholes for the rest of my life."

"Are you still together…?"

"Lord no." Glinda sat up and hugged at pillow, tossing her curly blond hair off of her shoulder, "We were never really together. We just went out once last Friday." She flushed at the memory at the stairwell and decided not to mention that to Elphie.

"Alright," Elphaba seemed satisfied, "You deserved better anyway."

The green woman then spent the next 20 minutes in the shower while Glinda made herself a cup of tea in Elphaba's kitchenette. She had originally planned to make a sandwich but Elphaba being Elphaba would rather spend her time reading than to go outside and buy groceries.

This was another reason why Glinda had been thankful that Elphaba spent most of her time at _her_ place anyway. Knowing her ex room-mate, she would've spent the rest of her life eating out or ordering Filaanian take-away food. At least at Glinda's, she would be forced to have her dinner before 10pm.

She remembered the first time she had actually seen Elphie pass out from hunger. It was early in their University careers and they weren't friends yet. Glinda remembered seeing Elphaba asleep in bed in the morning, and then coming back in the evening to find her in the same position.

She had actually, genuinely thought Elphaba had _died_ when she poked and prodded her for about 5 minutes and there were no response. And when she saw that Elphaba wasn't breathing – well actually she was but Glinda had been too panicked to notice – she broke down and cried, apologizing for everything she had ever done to her – which of course, earned her a sarcastic (but weak) reply.

She recalled her breath catching at her throat, turning her scream silent – which greatly amused the dying Elphaba.

Later she found out that the stupid green thing had survived the entire week on cup noodles and after forgetting one too many times, she passed out from hunger and was well on her way to death when she heard Glinda's – or GAlinda as she was known back then – incessant sobbing.

In fact, the first thing she had said when she regained consciousness was 'You're getting snot on my bedsheets'.

"Have I finally driven you insane? You're giggling to yourself."

Glinda – who was lounging on Elphaba's bed with her tea on the bedside table – glanced up at the freshly showered green woman. "Oh, nothing," she smiled amusedly, "Just remembering that incident where you passed out because you haven't eaten in a week."

"When was that?" Elphie furrowed her brows in confusion as she towel dried her long, thick mess of hair.

"In Shiz! Our first year as room-mates – I came back from class and you were lying in your bed in the same position as I saw you in the morning. I thought you _died_!"

At that, Elphaba had a look of realization on her face and began cackling. "Oh that."

"Don't you 'Oh that' me," Glinda huffed lightly, "I really thought you died! Do you know how traumatized I was over that?"

"Why are you drudging up silly things like that?" Elphaba asked between cackles, unable to stop her grinning.

"No reason, really. It just came back to me."

"Well, alright then." Elphaba raised a curious brow and went out to place her wet towel on the drying rack. When she came back into the room, Glinda had already finished her tea.

"So what now?" The blond asked.

Elphaba checked her phone for the time. "I've got 2 and a half hours to get to the airport, check in, and have lunch."

"It's a 45 minute drive to the airport from here, isn't it? We could grab something at the drive-in."

"We? You're coming with me?"

"Elphie, do you even know which terminal you're flying from?"

Elphaba paused, and then flushed purple.

Glinda simply laughed.

* * *

 **A/N** Next up, Elphaba's first time home in over a year. Is everything going to go according to plan? Who knows. I might just kill off everyone in the next chapter and close the story - I'm joking. But I'm only writing a chapter ahead for each release for this story, so who knows? Plans might change, things might happen.

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - Definitely lol. At least in this story, Fiyero is a genuinely screwed up asshole, and Elphaba is dealing with her own hot-headedness. Their redemption arcs would be fun to write later on :P And as for Tibbett... Heh.

RavenCurls - Crope is more open-minded than his two friends :P My own office does the same thing! Somebody hit on an intern during a networking thing, and by the next day, everyone in the studio had heard about it.

Mother yackel - HAHAHA! Nawww. It just seemed like the right place to break it off. She'll remain the one true monarch of Cliffies ;) Fiyero will get what's due eventually! But for now, he's just trying to recover from his first actual encounter with a feisty green woman :P As for Crope and Tibby... Well... Heh.

TheDoctorPieMaker - Thanks for reading! I hope you'll stick around ;)

AstridElsa99 - LOL! You've certainly got quite the imagination, friend. And naw, I won't be 'destroying' people in the A/N. I like to think that I'm a pretty nice guy - most of the time :P I'm glad that the story stuck with you though, and it's always fun to see people speculating in the reviews. I'm really glad that you've enjoyed the story so far!

Guest, Guestie, guest - Really happy that you guys are enjoying this! (And so many guests, oh my.)

elphfaeba - No worries! I'm just glad you're still reading! :) And thanks! I'm glad you've enjoyed the chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

**6.**

"Welcome home."

"Mmhm."

Nessarose raised her brow at Elphaba, but said nothing. The awkwardness stirred Elphaba – knowing how Nessa was, being quiet was not one of her stronger suites, although she had to credit this to having not seen her sister in over a year. Nessa must still be mad.

The only reason Elphaba had accepted to coming for the dinner tonight was because Nessa threatened to tell father that she had the cross of Unnamed God removed from every room in the Thropp Co. building.

"Where are your bags?" Nessa asked as she glanced behind Elphaba, confused. The driver – whom Elphaba assumed was doubling as Nessa's help – shifted uncomfortably at the thought of the possibility of heavy lifting.

"I've got my bags. This bag." She tugged at her weathered backpack.

Nessa sighed dramatically, obviously frustrated at her sister, "So I assume you would not be staying with us for long?"

"I have a flight back at 1am."

"Do you hate us so much that you would take the very first flight out of Munchkinland as quickly as you possibly could?" She furrowed her brows, her large brown eyes expressive and – frankly – terrifying to look at when she's upset.

Elphaba flinched. "I've got things back home I need to take care of."

"THIS is home – not the Emerald City." Nessa insisted, "Colwen Grounds, with father and me. Don't assume that I don't know that you're not as busy as you make yourself seem to be, Fabala. I knew as much about Great-Grandfather's work as you did before you took over."

At this, Elphaba frowned, "There's more to what I have to do than delegating all my work to employees. What Great-Grandfather let us see when we were just teenagers was just so we wouldn't be scared off by all the responsibility. That silly old man was so set on keeping the CEO position within the family – it's ridiculous."

Nessa fumed, but again – said nothing.

The driver looked uncomfortable standing right there, and kept flicking his eyes over to his right, trying to pretend that he was elsewhere. Just anywhere just here.

Finally, Elphaba spoke, "We should go. I wouldn't want to spend my limited time here arguing with you, Nessa... I'll even promise to behave tonight." She smiled slightly as a way of apologizing.

Nessarose took a glance at Elphaba and sighed, softening. She could never really stay mad at her sister. They were too close for that, and she loved her too much.

The driver seemed relieved as Nessa gestured at him to wheel her to the car. Elphaba stopped him, "I'll do it." And it seemed to make her sister smile.

Nessa laid her head briefly on Elphaba's hand on the handle, and spoke softly, "… I've missed you."

Elphaba felt a small tug on the corner of her lips, thinking back on her childhood spent in Colwen Grounds with her baby sister, and she sighed dramatically, "me too."

* * *

"It's a beautiful home."

"Thank you."

"Your daughter is the head of the family empire?" Reginald asked curiously. The party of 4 had been smoking cigars in the parlour with the windows open. All of them had met each other during their stints in office. Now they were just older men who liked discussing their views on the modern Ozian political scene and how much their own pensions had been worth.

"Yes. Melena's grandfather finally keeled over a little over 2 years ago." Frexspar Thropp replied with a smile, hidden away by his thick beard. He took a long drag from his vinkus-imported cigar.

George Cherrystone feigned interest, "Old Peerless is dead? I haven't heard! And your daughter took over? The green one?"

"Gone and gone. And yes, my eldest." Frex narrowed his eyes at his friend. He still uncomfortable with talking about Elphaba. It simply brought up too much shame and embarrassment. She might've been the face of success, but she was still the daughter who rejected everything her family had to offer. She was green, behaves like an upstart, and an atheist.

"The company did very well in the last financial year. I'd assumed that Peerless was still holding the reigns." Patty Glorymarch chirped form his seat, lightly tapping his cigar on the ashtray.

Reginald nodded, "What was her name again?"

"Elphaba." Frex replied.

"Lovely." Reginald complimented easily. Gillikinese were such stately creatures.

"My own son had joined the Royal Army recently." George commented, turning the conversation to his family. "I called some people I knew and they've all said that Theodore would make Commander by the time he turns 30."

"Commander Cherrystone." Patty remarked drly. If he was impressed, he hid it well.

A few minutes later, voices could be heard at the front door, and Nessarose was announced to be home. The men finished up with their cigars and headed out to greet the return of Frex's favourite child.

They chattered all the way, at least until they saw the person behind Nessa's chair. It wasn't as if they hadn't known about Elphaba's skin condition, but it was still startling to see in person. George Cherrystone was first to speak.

"They really weren't joking, were they?" He stared.

Frexspar flushed in embarrassment, but soldiered on. "You've all met Nessarose. But this is Elphaba, my eldest. The current CEO and Chairman of the Thropp & Company Cooperation."

Elphaba nodded stiffly at the men, and made no indication of speaking.

The men glanced at each other, and then – forced by social protocol – nodded back in acknowledgement.

Both father and younger daughter were flustered at the sight of the awkward introductions, and Frex quickly moved to introduce each men. Finally, when what had to be done was done, they moved on to the living area.

* * *

It was now 6pm, and Frex couldn't be more relieved when the servants came by and told them that dinner was ready. They had spent the last hour or so conversing in the living area, by the fireplace.

Cherrystone and Patty Glorymarch were locked in heated debate with Elphaba, going on and on about their thoughts on the Wizard's government and the recent border skirmishes between Ugabu and Ev. Reginald sat himself away from the debate, choosing to listen in and only speaking occasionally.

Nessa was seated quietly by Elphaba, knowing when it's not her turn to speak in the presence of her elders. She had plenty of opinions, of course, but she had never thought much of politics and would rather not indulge in things like that. Religion was her only calling – her work, and thoughts, were with the Unnamed God, always.

When it was clear to Frex that the debate would not be stopping anytime soon, he jumped in, "Gentlemen, I've been informed that dinner is ready. We can continue with this after dinner, I hope."

The men made noises of affirmation, and Elphaba simply excused herself to the restroom.

Frex has always had a hard time connecting with his daughter. As a child, Elphaba had been quiet – but naughty. Always biting things and breaking toys apart. Even when she was put into a daycare, the first thing she did was attack the other children with anything she could throw.

Nanny, their first caretaker, had insisted that it was normal. The other children had been mean and teasing, Elphaba was simply learning about the human nature. It was something that she had to learn now – to get her used to being ostracized because of her skin. It was her burden to bear.

When Melana passed after having Nessarose – his sweet, sweet Nessarose – Elphaba calmed, although not for long. 2 Years after losing her mother, at the age of 5, Elphaba began misbehaving again.

It continued on until she turned 13, and out of necessity – what with his divine calling for the Unnamed God and Nessa being sent to attend the Saint Glinda's Convent School – Elphaba was shipped off to live with her Great-Grandfather.

Peerless Thropp took her in very willingly, although it seemed to Frex that she had been left to her own devices most of the time. The old man was too busy with his work, and Elphaba avoided having to interact with him as much as she could. He'd always thought that his Fabala was – in actuality – a little afraid of Peerless.

It wasn't until her stint in Shiz University that he had noticed a change in Elphaba.

She became louder and more outspoken. He was sure that she still couldn't give a damn about clothes and other things that girls should want, but she began dressing better – and actually brushing her hair.

Thankfully she hadn't gone around dating boys or anything, it would've given Frex a heart attack. As much as he was ashamed of Elphaba, she was still his daughter. _She_ was his burden to bear.

Eventually, at her graduation ceremony – double degrees in life sciences and business strategies and a minor in humanities studies – he met her room-mate, Glinda Upland, and everything started to make sense.

He liked Glinda. She was surprisingly brilliant beneath that blonde, Gillikinese head of hers. And it was no secret that she had helped the Thropp Empire to prosper after being brought in by his daughter right after their graduation.

Even when he had no say or hand in the Thropp family business, Frex had still felt that he had a responsibility to keep the company afloat. At least in Melana's memory.

If she had still been alive, she would've been leading the company, not Elphaba.

For some reason, these were the thoughts that plagued him recently.

* * *

"So Elphaba. Founder's Day at the Thropp Company is soon, isn't? I remember the last one I attended, old Peerless was still alive." Cherrystone quipped with a low laugh. The dessert had been served – fruit pies, it seemed.

Elphaba kept her face straight. If she'd let her true feelings show, Nessa wouldn't be very happy with her later. "It's happening in a month or so."

"Interesting, interesting." The one named Reginald nodded to himself.

They were trying to get her to invite them to the Ball, she knew that much. She could see it in their faces. Why else would they bring up Founder's Day?

It had been a harrowing evening, having spent hours forced into conversation with her father's friends and getting side eyes from Frex himself. He had already been unhappy to find out that she hadn't planned to stay at all.

What she really wanted right now was just a hot shower, a quick nap, and then leave for the airport at 9pm. That way she could do some quick shopping at the gift shop for Boq and Glinda, and be the first one on the plane home.

Colwen Grounds had its own way of sucking the life out of her body.

At some point, Elphaba had suspected that it could've been because of all her – admittedly – screwed up childhood memories coming back to haunt her. There _were_ some good ones – ones with Nessa and teaching her how to put the blocks into the right holes, and not just throwing them at the servants.

There were plenty with Frex's demeaning stare when she said something out of line or did something 'wrong'. When her _pianoforte_ skills were never good enough or graceful enough – or when she refused to learn horse riding because it seemed _wrong_ to her that people should climb atop animals and ride on them.

She had always felt that nothing she did would ever be good enough, and the feelings intensified when she was anywhere near, or inside, the house.

Elphaba hide everything inside of her, of course. She had never told anyone how she felt nor have she ever tried to explain to anyone why she behaved the way she did. Glinda had suggested that she should go get some professional help – aka therapy – but Elphaba had always thought that it was a waste of time.

Reading was her therapy – and so was watching ridiculous late night cartoons, but no one tell Glinda about that. She would never hear the end of it.

"—Arjiki—"

"—what?" Her attention was caught. Arjiki? Why are they talking about Arjiki? At this moment, she'd wished that she hadn't tuned out.

George Cherrystone raised a thick brow at her, "I was just saying that I've heard that Arjiki recently collaborated with Tenmeadews to widen the Vinkun-Ev trade road. It's a lot of money pumped."

"Yeah, well I hope it screws over their finances," she mumbled to herself, under her breath. Any mention of Arjiki would instantly bring up the image of Fiyero Tiggular dumping coffee over her head. It was infuriating.

"Magnus Tiggular's middle child came back into office not too long ago, I heard. He'd been sent into rehab for almost 2 years. The boy was a business genius, except that he spent almost as much as he earned for his father. Reckless man-child was what he turned out to be."

"How old is he?" Frex asked, frowning.

Cherrystone glanced over to Elphaba, and then to Nessa. "Not that much older than your girls, I suppose."

"They won't last long." Frexspar scoffed pridefully. "Tribal heathens are what they are. Upstarts in the Emerald City."

"Tiggulars are old money – same as you, Frex." Reginald commented helpfully, "Isn't their headquarters directly across the street from the Thropp building?"

Frex reddened angrily, but chose not to reply – instead, he stabbed his spoon into the fruit pie.

"No need to get huffy, Frexspar, old friend," Reginald laughed.

Elphaba kept her opinions to herself, counting the minutes till her flight home.

* * *

It was cold.

He hated the cold.

He'd spent most of his childhood in the Vinkus, and then the rest of his life in the Emerald City. Sure he had been to colder places – the Glikkus, for example – but not only was it cold right now, but it's wet. The air is humid and sticky, and the winds were howling. He looked up at the sky and knew that it was going to rain again.

He hauled his bags over his shoulders and scurried into the airport. At least they had heaters inside.

Fiyero asked himself again and again – why was he in Munchkinland tonight of all nights?

Oh yes.

Because his flight had been cancelled and he was stuck for another couple of hours in the Central Munch Airport.

Why was his flight cancelled, one might ask?

It was a result of a sudden and terrible lightning storm that struck the unfortunate vehicle. Damn Munchkinland and its unpredictable weather.

The passengers on his flight had been reallocated into a plane scheduled to fly off at 1am. And now, unfortunately, the new plane would not have private singles booths and he would be forced into one half of a couple's booth.

He could only hope that the seat next to his would remain empty. The last thing Fiyero needed was an unwanted intimate plane experience with a fat munchkin businessman or an overly enthusiastic cougar.

He checked in his bags and hurried to find a bar nearby. The stress had been putting him on edge, and he had actually – seriously – considered picking up _smoking_ as opposed to bourbon on the rocks.

After getting turned around by the confusing signs around the ridiculous airport, he finally found a classy looking bar that didn't have too many people hanging around. He took a seat at the counter and ordered a whiskey.

"Thousand-Year." He waved a finger. The bartender nodded, and then fished out a full, unopened bottle from under the counter.

"Vinkun whiskies. It's too sharp for munchkin or gillikinese tastes. Quadlings like them, but they don't travel by plane." The bartender served a generous amount. "Rocks?"

Fiyero shook his head with a small smile, "Bottoms." He lifted the glass, and the bartender jutted his chin.

The stinging taste of the vinkun whiskey ran smoothly down his parched throat. A few more of these, and it would be enough for him to forget about the horrible week he was having. He could already feel the tingling on his fingertips.

"Bad day?" The bartender asked, cleaning the countertop.

"More like bad week." FIyero scoffed, and then looked straight at the guy – a tall sort of munchkin with a little mix of gillikinese in his blood, he could tell. "I had a falling out with a girl I was really interested in. All because of her butthurt bestfriend."

"What'd you do?"

Fiyero downed the drink and the bartender topped off the glass immediately after he set it down. He nodded to the man in acknowledgment of his efficiency. "I accidentally spilled coffee on her and she freaked. Yelling and glaring…" He grimaced.

"Even after you apologized?"

At this, Fiyero flushed. He hoped that the bartender would attribute to the drink however. "I didn't. She started shouting at me, and I guess I was being pretty petty about it so I refused to apologize. She's a fiery one, so one comment led to another and we got into it."

The bartender raised a brow at him and chuckled in a rich baritone. "Sounds to me you should apologize to the bestfriend before trying to go for the girl again."

"Interesting concept." Fiyero deadpanned, and took another sip. "She's green, you know. Her skin is literally _green_. Like emeralds."

"What does that have to do with anything?" The bartender asked, probing lightly.

"I don't know. She's impossible." He growled, frustrated at himself. "I don't like her."

"And yet you keep talking about her."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to stop now. I'll just nurse my drink quietly and wait for my stupid flight."

The bartender laughed, but decided not to dig further. Fiyero did as he said he would. He kept his mouth shut and sipped - vinkun whiskies were strong substances and not to be taken lightly. Soft jazz played in the background, and soon he found his thoughts drifting again.

Two days ago he had flown down to Munchkinland for a business meeting with a few of Central Munch's financier groups. During this time, he texted Glinda frequently, but she hadn't replied any one of them.

They had met up on Monday evening to talk things out, but Fiyero's stubbornness had led her to breaking things off with him. He'd felt… unsatisfied. They had only gone out once, but he truly did enjoy being with her. She was really fun – and hot. For the first time in a long while, he actually felt pretty shitty about being a jerk.

And then there was this whole bestfriends with Elphaba Thropp thing. Now this was a story he wanted to hear, but their only lunch time conversation had barely touched the surface details. He'd wanted to know the deal behind the friendship – seeing that Glinda was definitely the popular girl, and Elphaba was anything but.

Fiyero was irritated again.

Every time he thought of Glinda, Elphaba would hijack into the stream of consciousness. Maybe he really should apologize first. At least then he could get rid of what seemed to be guilt – and then he could move on to focussing on romancing and seducing.

He finished off his drink and checked his watch.

12.35am.

He should get going.

* * *

"Have a safe flight, sir."

"Thank you."

He smiled charmingly at the gillikinese stewardess, and she blushed deeply – unable to keep her eyes away from him even as he walked away. He checked his boarding pass again, B-4, and made his way to the front.

The first class cabin was designed to put the comfort of their passengers as the very top priority, and Fiyero was immensely grateful for that. He didn't like flying very much and it was one of the reasons why he took to drinking – at least with enough whiskey he might be lucky enough to sleep through the 10 hour flight.

The 'suite' the airline had provided for him was a cosy looking thing meant for couples – it was quite literally a _room_. Earlier, the pilot himself had come out to apologize to 'Mister Tiggular' for the unfortunate circumstances.

If he hadn't already felt like he was going to shoot himself in the face with a shotgun if he had to stay any longer in rainy Munchkinland, he might actually have heard a word that came out of the mousy man's mouth.

A sweet, blond stewardess came up to Fiyero – who'd been staring at his suite for quite some time – and she asked, "Is there anything wrong with your booth, Mr Tiggular?"

"Oh no. It's… great. Thanks—"He paused, "Actually. Am I seeing this correctly? I'm sitting on the inside?"

The girl took a look at his boarding pass, "Hm… Technically, yes sir."

Great. He was locked in.

"… Thanks. Could you get me a shot of absinthe?"

"S-Sir, absinthe is illegal in –"

"—alright, alright, how about an Emerald Cruiser?"

"Yes, sir."

She hurried off to make his drink.

He tossed his bags in the compartment above and stepped into the booth, having to duck slightly. As he made himself comfortable in his seat, he came to realize that there isn't a divider between him and the seat next to him.

The air stewardess came back with his drink and handed it carefully.

"Hey, sorry." He said quickly, catching her attention, "I was just wondering if you knew who's sitting next to me?"

The stewardess perked, "Oh, uhm…"

A woman's voice came from the corner, "You can't be serious."

* * *

Francesca had worked as an air stewardess for a little over 3 years now, and she'd been on plenty of flights. She had served her fair share of the rich and famous after working in the first class cabin and it was always a thrill.

But not this one.

Oh no.

This was different.

When Vivian from economy cabin had told her that Fiyero Tiggular – the super handsome and incredibly rich guy from that one issue of _OzPoz_ magazine – was on the flight, she had put in extra minutes into fixing her hair and unbuttoned an extra button on her top. She even stuffed her bra a little before they began boarding.

She believed that it was the will of the Unnamed God that brought Fiyero into the 1am flight, and she thanked the lords of fate and destiny that struck the left wing engine of his initial flight.

When she had spotted Fiyero walking in, she could've sworn that her heart beat had been loud enough for the entire cabin to hear. He was even handsomer in real life. His beautiful russet hair was perfectly styled back, bringing out the contour of his slightly hollowed cheeks and the light stubble very literally made him look like a male model.

Francesca felt an uncomfortable warmth in her nether regions.

"Hey, sorry. I was just wondering if you knew who's sitting next to me." He asked her, his forest green eyes boring into hers. She felt her heart quicken as she watched his lips move.

"Oh, uhm…"

It was then that a woman suddenly stepped up to the booth and paused stiffly. "You can't be serious."

Francesca looked up and was shocked into stillness when she noticed the green to the woman's skin. It hadn't been a trick of the eye, nor was it because of the lighting in the plane. It was green, as in, genuinely, _genuinely_ green.

She felt a scream attempting to erupt, and so she slapped her hands to her lips. The green woman raised a brow at her, and then promptly moved to ignore her and hauled her bag into the compartment above.

"What's wrong?" Fiyero Tiggular asked, sounding concerned.

The green woman then groaned and peeked into the suite. It was then that Francesca noticed the expression on Fiyero's change from concern to a curious mix of recognition and horror.

"No." He whispered, as if it had been unintended.

The green woman growled, and snapped her head up to Francesca – startling her, "I want to change my seat. Anywhere but next to this man."

Fiyero frowned deeply, "Hey, it's not like I planned this. My original flight got cancelled."

"Anywhere. Anywhere at all." The green woman had almost sounded like she was pleading as she kept her eyes on Francesca, effectively ignoring Fiyero.

"I-I'm sorry ma'am. We're 10 minutes to take-off. We can't make changes like that on the whim—"Francesca tried to explain.

The green woman glowered, her sharp features looking terribly intimidating up close, "I'll pay anything."

"Is this how Thropp Co. solves their problems? Throwing money at everything until everything goes their way?" Fiyero remarked spitefully from inside the suite.

Thropp Co.? Francesca coiled back – recalling an article she had read about a company buying over the entire Neverdale resorts line sometime last year. She had spent a weekend or two every year at Neverdale, and if she had remembered correctly, it had been Thropp Co. under their new CEO, Elphaba Thropp that bought over the resorts.

There had been such scandals about someone so young heading an empire as large as the Thropps, and Francesca was sure that she had heard rumours about the CEO's unfortunate skin condition. She hadn't thought they could've been true – at least until now!

"Miss Thropp! I'm terribly sorry, but the flight it full, and—"

"—I'll switch with one of the people from economy then—"

"—Passengers, please take your seats and fasten your seat belts. We are preparing for take-off."

Francesca stood her ground. "Miss Thropp, we can't do that. Please take your seat. We're preparing for take-off."

Elphaba Thropp then scowled, knowing now that she was stuck with her seating arrangement. Francesca couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to be next to Fiyero Tiggular for a 10 hour flight. In a suite meant for couples, no less. They didn't even have dividers between them.

The green woman unwillingly dragged herself into her seat and snapped her head towards Fiyero when she heard him scoffing.

The gillikinese air stewardess then sighed heavily, knowing that it wouldn't be such a perfect flight tonight after all.

* * *

 **A/N** There's bound to be mistakes in this chapter. My brain hasn't been working recently. I'll probably come back and read this again later today and find a million and one missing words/grammar mistakes/ spelling mistakes/ continuity errors.

I'll reply to comments through PM this time, since everyone who reviewed has an account here. The author's notes were getting too long :P  
Next up - A 10 hour flight with Elphaba and Fiyero. What could _possibly_ go wrong.


	7. Chapter 7

**7.**

10 hours.

They would be stuck in the same space for 10 hours. Fiyero had experienced many occurrences of bad luck in his life, but this has got to be the worst.

The plane had taken off less than 10 minutes ago, but Elphaba had already prepared herself to completely shutting him out. The suite was spacious enough for them to claim the corners for themselves, but it was still small enough that it was impossible for either of them to escape noticing each other.

He took a long sip from his cocktail and side-eyed her, frowning deeply. She had her ear pieces dug in and a yellowed book cracked open in front of her. Her face was stern as she concentrated all her will and energy into ignoring him – he could tell from the tiny twitching on her brow.

Suddenly she forced her eyes shut and exhaled sharply. "Why are you staring at me," she all but growled out. There was something cathartic about finally breaking the stifling silence between them.

Fiyero gulped the entirety of his drink and turned his head to the TV in front of him, "It's hard not to." He said stiffly, keeping his jaw locked and trying not to notice the slight shifting on her side.

She narrowed her eyes at him but chose not to award him with a reply. Seconds later, she returned her attention to her book and continued to read. He tried to concentrate on the (barely) amusing rom-com running on the tv, but found himself leaning on the armrest on Elphaba's side, fighting the urge to glance over to see what she was doing.

The one thing Fiyero hated more than anything – aside from headstrong green girls – was being ignored.

He ordered another drink and downed it as quickly as his first. This finally earned him a wary glance from Elphaba… His body felt all warm and uncomfortable from all the Emerald Cruisers he'd been drinking.

"Do you always drink a gallon's worth of alcohol on flights?" she snipped, her mouth turning into a scowl as she looked him over.

For some _irritating_ reason, Fiyero felt shame. He'd thought he had gotten thick-skinned enough over the years to not feel anything when people commented on his drinking problem, but the way she was looking at him made him feel all… flustered.

"None of your _bees-wax_."

Elphaba raised a curious brow at him, and he noticed a tiny twitch on the corner of her lips – as if she were trying not to laugh. This irritated him even more.

He shot a glare at her and sat straight on his seat, plucking at the button on his shirt. It was getting too warm.

"If you start stripping, I'll toss you right off this plane."

He stopped fidgeting with his shirt.

* * *

9 hours left.

They had 9 hours left on the plane.

20 minutes after Elphaba had threatened to toss him off the plane, Fiyero had leaned over to his side of the suite and snuggled right up against the window, trying to sleep off the alcohol. She had never seen anyone throwback 2 Emerald Cruisers and not throw up within 5 seconds of finishing the second one.

She had actually felt what seemed like concern when she noticed how flustered he was getting, sitting next to her. She would've done him a favour and switched out to another seat, but the airline insisted that they couldn't do that.

Boq would have a field day with this when she got back to the office in the afternoon.

She glanced over to Fiyero's sleeping form and frowned – he's handsome. Really handsome. But looks only went so far with her. She had lived her entire life being ridiculed and ostracised because of how she looked, so she'd grown up not caring much about a person's exterior.

It was one of the reasons why she and Glinda didn't get along at all when they had first met in collage, and the only reason they had managed to become such good friends was because Glinda – despite her obsession with everything pretty – had a genuine heart of gold.

Fiyero on the other hand simply made her feel like throwing him off a cliff because of his giant douchiness.

As if sensing her murderous thoughts, he let out a soft snore and huddled. She could almost see a light drool trail from the corner of his lips.

Elphaba snorted in contempt and returned to her book.

* * *

8 hours left.

Fiyero awoke from his nap, feeling much better. His head was still a little heavy but at least he no longer felt the urge to sit close to Elphaba now. He wiped at the corner of his lips and flushed slightly when he realized that he had drooled slightly in his drunken nap.

Quickly, he glanced over to Elphaba to see if she saw anything and found her leaning her head against the padded wall. Her arms were folded and her book was sitting next to her.

She was asleep, he realized.

Her eyes were closed and her breathing was even. When she wasn't awake to furrow her brows or scowl at him, she wasn't so bad…

"… Still an annoying green demon." He grumbled softly to himself as he willed his thoughts away. Elphaba Thropp hadn't actually _done_ anything to him, but Fiyero could already feel his bruised ego throbbing painfully at the memory of their first actual meeting.

He peaked over at the cover of her book – Pride and Prejudice – and resisted the urge to snicker. One of the girls he used to sleep with was a librarian from Terra Hills, and she had been one of the 'Austen' fangirls.

She had called out 'Mr Darcy's name all but the first time they slept together, and Fiyero didn't even realize that Darcy was the name of one of the book's characters until the two of them had broken up and she was throwing her collection at him and screaming at him to get out.

He reached over and plucked the book from Elphaba, running a thumb over the pages. He's always had a secret fondness for reading, but it didn't really fit with his lifestyle and the look he was going for. Reading for pleasure was for nerds and geeks – the last thing he read was a 50 page long financial legal document.

As he flipped through the book mindlessly, his eye was caught by the scribbling on the cover page. Licking his bottom lip in glee, Fiyero read.

" _For Elphie. Jane to my Bingley. Happy Birthday. – T.H_ "

His eyes widened slightly. He wasn't meant to see this – it was… too personal. His eyes flicked over to the sleeping green woman next to him and he reddened. This was a woman attached. This man – T.H – he must've meant a lot to her if she was still bringing his gift around. And the book was well-read too – the spine of the book was barely holding together.

She stirred and he quickly placed the book back where it belonged, and he scooted back to his side of the suite.

Something was stirring within him and he didn't like it one bit.

* * *

7 hours left.

She wasn't sure why, but she kept feeling Fiyero's eyes on her.

Elphaba ordered a tofu salad and pooled all her will power to concentrate on her food, instead of that gnawing feeling of her suite-partner's green eyes watching her curiously. She would always know when people were staring at her – she had lived her entire life being stared at after all – but this felt different.

Finally, she snapped her head towards him, "Yes, I'm green. We've already established that a week ago. Why on earth are you still staring?!"

Fiyero coiled back in surprise, but quickly recovered, leaning away from her and folding his arms across his chest, "I wasn't staring because of your skin." He said seriously – which was new to Elphaba.

He turned towards the tv and she noted that he has a very pleasant profile. He really was a genetic lottery winner. "I saw what you were reading." He commented.

She felt heat rise to her cheeks and knew immediately that her must be blushing purple right now. Self-consciously, she picked up her book and chucked it on her other side – away from his prying eyes. She didn't need him – of all people – to comment on her choice of literature.

"Nosy asshole." She muttered frustratedly and chomped down on her salad.

He seemed amused, a tiny raise to his brow and a barely noticeable twitch to the corner of his lips, and they allowed the air between them to settle into a more or less amiable silence. He stopped staring, but she could still see the little glances when he thought she wasn't paying attention.

* * *

6 hours left.

It was now almost 5 am and Fiyero hadn't slept at all. The heavy grey Munchkinland clouds were all he could see outside, and the great expanse of Munchkin farmland was really nothing interesting to stare at.

He went for a little walk, visiting the crew cabin and flirting with the air stewardesses before he got bored and came back to the suite. Elphaba was napping again and Fiyero decided he very much preferred Elphaba when she was unconscious. At least he wouldn't have to deal with his strange urge to say something stupid just to get her riled up again.

He wasn't sure why but his mouth seemed to do its own thing when he was around her. He had to consciously restrict what he said to her lest they start having a row on the plane – his brother would _kill_ him if he saw the headlines for that. CEO of Thropp Co tosses Arjiki CFO off a plane!

She would definitely do that, he felt. It just seemed like such an _Elphie_ thing—

Wait a second.

Did he really just think that?

Did he just give that demonic green girl a nickname?

Fiyero quickly ordered a half dozen shots of mutfroot vodka and tossed them back consecutively, forcing his brain to muddle and falling back into alcohol induced coma.

* * *

5 hours left.

He was drinking again. She had noticed the empty shot glasses on the little table that slid out from the side of the seats. She wasn't _worried_ about him – it was more like mild concern. Drinking that much must not be very pleasant for his liver.

Elphaba was suddenly glad that Glinda had dumped him. He wasn't good enough for her after all. He might've been rich and good-looking but it looks like he's already slipped back into alcoholism less than a month back from his 2 year stint in rehab.

She remembered the whole media mess that had surrounded his drunken spiral – it was around the same time she had stepped into her Great-Grandfather's position.

And now, the same man was knocked out and drooling in the seat right next to her.

 _Charming_.

She couldn't understand why he was so popular with the ladies? Sure, he's good looking – but he'd also a drunkard and an infuriating ass. She just couldn't wrap her mind around being cordial with a man like him.

As if sensing her overwhelming contempt for him, Fiyero snorted softly.

Elphaba stared. This was the CFO of the Arjiki Tradings Company. This was the man who was in charge of one of the largest, and most successful financial portfolios in the business world.

This drooling monkey was one of the most brilliant person in business.

He moaned, curling into a ball in his seat like a child with a tummy ache. He probably did have a tummy ache, looking at the amount of alcohol he had consumed in the few hours they had been on board.

"Serves you right." She muttered to herself, and he moaned again.

* * *

4 hours left.

As a child, Fiyero lived a very sheltered, very pampered life.

The Tiggular household consisted of his parents, Baldr, Fiyero himself, and Alev. Father was the head of the family – strict and unrelenting. He was a tall, solidly built man, something that all three Tiggular children inherited. Fiyero remembered being afraid of his father. He still was, except that now he buried it under bravado.

As a child, he was always compared to Baldr.

Baldr was smarter, more obedient and always did the right thing. Baldr had dark hair and green eyes, just like daddy. Baldr was the president of the Oz U Student Council. Baldr was the valedictorian when he graduated from Oz University at the top of his cohort. Baldr was married to a Von Bilt. Baldr fathered 2 little boys.

Fiyero on the other hand...

There was an incident, way back when he was still studying in a boarding school out in the land of Ev. It was Lurlinemas and he had come home for the holidays, barely in his teens. He remembered stepping into the house for the first time in a whole year, still dressed in his suffocating monkey suit of a school uniform.

He had been so excited to be home, seeing the silhouette of the Great Kells not too far away. He remembered letting the servants carry his bags to his room while he headed to the drawing room to look for his mother.

He remembered seeing mother holding a tiny little thing to her chest, cooing, while Baldr stood by her, love and admiration in his eyes. Mother looked up to Fiyero and smiled. Come see your baby brother, she said.

Nobody told him anything.

Alev, or Al as everyone called him, was born only a few months before. Baldr knew about Al 3 months into mother's pregnancy. There had been a baby shower 6 months ago.

Nobody mentioned anything.

Fiyero lived a very sheltered and pampered life.

He had everything going for him.

He was handsome and charming. He had a sharp eye and was smarter than he let on. He had nothing to complain about how he was raised. Most people had endured worse. He had it going for him.

He had nothing to complain about.

* * *

3 hours left.

She left the TV on but muted, watching an episode of an old series.

Next to her, he stirred but did not wake. If it had been anyone else, she would've asked the stewardess to thrown on a blanket on him or something, but out of petty spite, she decided to leave him be.

Their suite had smelt nauseating – the stench of an abundance of alcohol hung in the air. She had asked the stewardess to get them an air purifier or something but they had only a tiny satchel of lavender air freshener. They weren't supposed to have combustibles on the flight.

Elphaba then hunkered down for the final 3 hours of torture, forcing herself to ignore the smell and the drooling idiot sitting next to her.

He stirred again, and she wondered if he was having a nightmare.

She sure hoped he was having a nightmare.

Her being awake right now next to him was a nightmare in itself, and she shouldn't be the only one suffering, especially when her suffering came from his presence in her life.

She felt that they had been lucky, however. She had spent nearly 7 hours with him so far and nothing much had happened. They haven't stabbed each other in the face yet and they weren't even shouting at each other.

This was as good as it was going to get, she believed, and she let herself settle into the soft hum of the engines propelling them across the Ozian sky.

* * *

2 hours left.

He woke, feeling like a truck had run him over. His head throbbed painfully and his throat was impossibly dry, but he couldn't drink anything because if he did, he would hurl. Yes, his stomach wasn't feeling so hot either.

The smell of alcohol hung in the stagnant air and he hated himself for that.

There was a small hint of lavender and he realized that it came from Elphaba's side of the suite. She was watching him with bemused hazel eyes as he pulled himself up, groaning at the stiffness of his neck.

He wiped at the corner of his lips, flushing at the wetness. He didn't have time for embarrassment, however. His eyes squinted at the brightness in the suite. "Could you… Augh, Oz on a stick—"He drawled, waving a finger at the knobs that he assumed controlled the lights.

Elphaba snorted in amusement, but did as he asked. "Good morning to you too." She deadpanned, sipping from a tall glass of what smelt like juice… His senses were sharpened by his painful hangover… Actually, he wasn't even hungover. He still felt drunk.

"Are we landing yet?" He growled lowly, slinking back into his seat and trying to will away the ache on his ass.

"We're 5 hours away from Emerald City."

"Screw me."

"I'd prefer not to."

" _Ladies and Gentlemen, we're entering the Emerald City. We'll be landing in approximately 2 hours._ "

Fiyero narrowed his eyes weakly at the cackling green woman, "You're a witch."

"Double, double toil and trouble!"

She was grinning to herself, ignoring Fiyero and taking a final sip from her juice. It was strange seeing her smile. He coiled back, surprised by his unwillingness to tear his eyes away from her upturned lips.

They were grey, he realized – although, he wasn't sure why he chose that little piece of information to save away in the back of his mind.

* * *

1 hour left.

"Why are you green?"

She furrowed her brows at him, slightly ticked off at the broken silence. Oh she had so enjoyed that brief moment of quiet between them.

Elphaba folded her arms across her chest, "Why are you beige?"

"Because I'm Vinkun." He said, green eyes still fixated on her. It was… unnerving. She stared at him for a second and then returned her attention to the still muted TV.

He frowned. "Oi."

"Oi yourself." She narrowed her eyes at him. Rude.

"Why are you green?"

She turned to him, and he perked up. She leaned on the arm rest, coming closer to him, looking very serious. He leaned in as well, face stoic and breathing the same air as her. Her eyes were lidded, looking over to him with an air of mystery. He looked back at her with curiosity. If anyone were to walk in on them right now, it would've painted a very different picture.

She parted her lips as if to say something, and he inhaled sharply.

" _Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. We will be landing in the Emerald City in 20 minutes. Please return to your seats._ "

Fiyero groaned as Elphaba cackled, pulling back to her seat and settling down. He leaned over the arm rest dividing them, "You were about to say something. Tell me!"

She glanced over, "We're not even friends, Mr Tiggular. You're not in the position to ask personal questions." Elphaba pushed him back to his side of the suite. What she hadn't anticipated was him grabbing her hand as she was pulling back.

There was something electric at the touch of his skin. She noticed his eyes widening impossibly, but he made no move to let go of her. His eyes flicked to their hands and something seemed to click in his head as he finally let her go.

Elphaba parted her lips to yell at him, accounting the raging warmth in her chest and face to anger at her hands being forcefully held, but no words came out, only a strangled squeak. Fiyero's face was flushed as he quickly fumbled to buckle his seat belt.

He cleared his throat unnecessarily and scooted away from her, choosing to lean against the window.

Neither of them spoke as the plane landed in the Emerald City.

* * *

Boq had a sweet tooth.

He enjoyed taffies and a whole ton of sugar in his coffees. He also preferred hanging out with nice people with bubbly personalities – which was why he was so attracted to Glinda initially. Which was why his friendship with Elphaba had been a confusing phenomenon.

"It's quiet without her around, isn't it?" Glinda mused as the two friends sat across from each other at their usual table, having a late lunch.

Boq nodded, enjoying the crisp air. "I cleared off her entire day and told her not to come in today, but if I know her well enough, we'll be seeing her later this afternoon."

Glinda laughed.

The conversation nodded off into commenting on Elphaba's many quirks, although somehow they had circled towards Glinda and her current relationship status.

"So, Fiyero Tiggular." Boq said, raising a thick brow at her.

Glinda rolled her eyes at him tiredly, "Again?"

Boq raised his hands at her in surrender, "Hey hey."

She sighed, "I don't know, Boq. Elphie hates him, and he really was an idiot that day."

"I would say good riddance, of course," Boq smirked, which earned him a smack on his arm, "but you really liked him, didn't you?"

"I did." Glinda sighed, peeling away at the plastic label on her bottle of water. "Do you think I should give him another chance?"

"I think he's an asshat." Boq said seriously.

"Then why'd you bring him up?"

The munchkin shrugged lightly, "It's interesting conversation."

"Maybe I should give him a call."

Boq made a face at her. Glinda smiled.

"So, I heard something about you and Milla – that girl from business strategies?" She uncapped her water and took a small sip.

"W-What? W-Where'd you-? How?" Boq flushed lightly, his fingers immediately took to fidgeting with his suspenders. "I don't know. She'd kinda cute."

"You should go for it!" Glinda winked.

"I won't be _going_ for anything. It's not the right time for me." Boq fussed.

"Then _when_ would be the right time?" Glinda leaned back into her seat.

Boq shrugged, "Things to do, people to meet."

The blonde rolled her pretty blue eyes, "You sound like Elphie." She poked a finger into his chest, "You have to make a move, before one of the others snag her up!"

This was a thought that really scared him. Milla was one of the prettier girls still unattached in the office, and Boq had already known that some of the other boys were talking about possibly asking her out. The two of them had been flirting back and forth for a little bit recently, but Boq was still rather nervous about asking her out.

The two returned to the office shortly after.

On his way back to his desk, he took the route that would allow him to walk by Milla's table. Even as he approached the brown haired, doe eyed, gillikinese, he could feel his heart racing and his palms damp with sweat.

He had never been very successful with the opposite gender (although he was strangely popular with the homosexual populace), and he could only see failure written across his cheek.

"Hey Boq!"

The sound of her voice brought him back, although now he was sure that all his sweating was probably putting her off.

So he simply smiled, "Hey! U-Uhm. Bye."

Even as he walked away, stumbling and bumping into other people, he could feel her confused stare on the back of his neck.

Boq swallowed down the urge to hurl.

* * *

Glinda sat in her office, taking a deep breath and enjoying the silence.

Being the Marketing Director, she enjoyed the luxury of an office all to herself. There were pretty decorations hanging all around, and of course, inspirational posters. Elphaba had always thought that they were tacky and useless, but Glinda liked them.

There were photographs of her family back in Pertha Hills, framed on the shelves. A quirky photo of Elphie and her from their days as room-mates in Shiz sat on her desk, right next to a group photo of her, Elphie and Boq from graduation.

Graduation.

She sighed.

It felt so long ago. They were just students, excited to get out there and change the world. Now they were sitting behind a desk, running a multi-billion dollar business. There had been a point in her life where she had thought about going into politics, but working here with Elphie, helping her deal with slimy contractors and businessmen, it was enough _politics_ for her.

She checked her phone and noticed another text from one Fiyero Tiggular, asking her out for dinner tonight.

Glinda chewed on her lower lip as she stared at his name, and against her better judgement, she opened the text and began to type her reply.

* * *

 **A/N** I'm alive! Sorry it's such a short chapter. The next one would be a tad longer, although it might not be coming so soon. I've been busy with work and planning a trip down to New York for Christmas week :P

I'll get to replying all the comments in a while! And I don't say it enough, but I really appreciate all the follows and feedback :) It's always so fun to see what you guys have to say. The next chapter would pick up the pacing of the story, now that we've more or less set up the setting and relationships in this AU.  
I'll see you guys then!


	8. Chapter 8

**8.**

A young Fiyero brushed the sand off his shorts as he stood by the monkey bars with a blowing-sand desert lily in his hands. He'd been nervous about today all week and the day had finally come.

He was going to see that new ninja tortoise movie with Fadilah, and her big brother won't even be coming with them this time! The kids in school had been saying that Fadilah liked Emil from history class better than she liked Fiyero.

Fiyero had known that Emil was a nasty kid and he was only nice when Fadilah was around to see. She never saw when Emil would yank Fiyero off the monkey bars, or when he would push him to the ground as they walked down the hallway in school. Emil was loud, cocky and he always liked to show off. Girls didn't like boy like that, Fiyero was sure.

He was so sure because Fadilah was a girl and Fadilah liked Fiyero because Fiyero was a good kid.

He would hold the door open for her, and say nice things about her hair or new dress. Fadilah was a really nice girl, and he really liked her. He would always listen to her talk about the things she liked and he would agree with everything she said. She was the one for him. They would get married and have lots of children!

He waited for half an hour, under the hot afternoon sun.

…

Fadilah must have gotten lost. Maybe she went to the wrong playground?

Another half an hour passed.

Fiyero stuck the flower into his plastic water bottle, trying to keep it as fresh and alive as possible as he waited for her.

…

A whole 2 hours came and went.

Fiyero kicked the water bottle aside, letting the water spill out and stomping on the stupid desert lily. He went home and shut himself in his room, refusing to come out until Baldr threatened to kick his ass if he didn't stop sulking.

The next day, Fadilah went around telling everyone that Emil was her boyfriend and that they had gone to see the ninja tortoise movie that she was supposed to go see with Fiyero. Emil had told her all about how he chose her to be his girlfriend because she was the prettiest girl in school. And then he bought her an ice cream.

That day, Fiyero had become the laughingstock in school, because everyone knew that Fiyero had liked Fadilah and they were supposed to have gone out yesterday. They knew because he had told everyone. He was so happy.

Was, being the keyword.

Emil came by to laugh at him and he pushed Fiyero to the ground.

Quietly, Fiyero got up and brushed himself off.

He looked Emil straight in the eyes and socked him.

* * *

"I heard that the invitations for Thropp Co.'s founder's day were sent out yesterday." Crope commented casually as he made himself comfortable on one of the arm chairs in Fiyero's office.

Tibbett nodded, glancing over to Fiyero knowingly, "I heard that it's gonna be big this year."

" _I heard_ that they're hosting it at the Great Emerald Hall." Crope gushed, sighing loudly as he imagined the lights and glamour that would definitely follow the event.

Fiyero, who was sitting at his desk, going through his work with increasing frustration, spared a glance at his friends. "Why are you people in my office?"

"It's Friday. And it's been a long week." Tibett replied nonchalantly, "Crope was getting cranky."

"I really was." The blond nodded seriously.

"Let's grab dinner."

"Yes! Let's!"

Fiyero exhaled tiredly, rolling away his chair away from his desk and allowing himself to take a breather. He couldn't deny that it had been a particularly harrowing week and he'd been itching for a good weekend off. Something had felt odd about his general disposition ever since he got back from that meeting in Munchkinland 2 weeks ago.

He wasn't sure what had changed but it simply felt like his life's balance had been tipped askew. Perhaps it had been because of his new relationship status with Glinda – now that they were officially dating again, Fiyero's alone time had significantly reduced. Any free time he had now was spent out with the pretty blonde or in his bed – again – with the pretty blonde.

The russet haired vinkun found that he rather enjoyed Glinda's company, not just in the biblical sense.

She was smarter than she let on, and she understood how the world worked, like Fiyero did. They both knew that in this world – image was everything. It only made sense that they would be together. He was handsome and rich, and she was – hands down – one of the prettiest creatures in all of Oz.

Genetically speaking, their children would be _amazing_.

Everything in life had started to make sense to him many years ago, a little after he had hit that puberty sweet spot. Before that, he really wasn't anything special. He was a small and bland looking kid. The only thing he had going for him was his family name. He was pretty smart, but Baldr had always done better in school.

Nobody cared about anything he did.

And then a little after age 15, something changed.

His little legs began to lengthen into these long, awkward things. His shoulders broadened, giving his body a very pleasing shape. His sweet, chubby cheeks began to hollow out and his jaw cut like blades.

Because of the long standing family tradition of sportsmanship, Fiyero – like his older brother – took on a variety of sports in school. And because of that, by 17, he'd filled out nicely and there were little traces of the sweet little boy that he used to be.

It wasn't just the girls who began taking notice.

The other boys began to look to him in a different light, and they no longer pushed him around. They still didn't like him very much, but it was clear that Fiyero wasn't just another quiet little rich kid.

The teachers started talking to him differently as well. It was as if they finally saw that Fiyero wasn't just the 'spare' – with Baldr as 'Heir'. Instead of calling him the 'other' Tiggualr, he was very quickly labelled the 'pretty' Tiggalar, with Baldr was the 'smart' Tiggular.

And of course, the girls.

The double takes and fluttering eyes were something he had trouble understanding until age 18, where Fadilah Ramos – his childhood crush – came up to him one day and asked him out.

He went out with her for a week before he realized that he really didn't care about the frivolous things that she liked to talk about, so he left her. For a few days, he wondered if he'd made a mistake. It should've meant something to him, because she was the first girl that he had pined for. But this thought was quickly tossed when another girl came up to him and confessed her love.

In a very short amount of time, Fiyero came to realize that he was good-looking, and it was because of that that people were treating him the way they were treating him.

And now after many years – and one nightmare rollercoaster that was Sarima – Fiyero became the man he was today.

"Why look at that. Her royal greenness had returned to her office."

Upon hearing Tibbett's comment, Crope rushed to the man's side and peaked over to the office on the other side of the road.

"She looks fuzzed." Crope remarked.

"Maybe something's gone wrong with the Founder's day brouhaha?" Tibbett offered helpfully. He turned and made a face at Crope, "Can you imagine working PR for that event? Nightmares!"

Crope laughed and squinted at the window, "It'll certainly be quite a challenge, I must say…" Suddenly he perked up, "Looky! It's her tiny P.A!"

"Why are you people so obsessed with what's going on over there? They can see you staring, y'know?" Fiyero called out with a small frown.

"Why are you _not_ obsessed with looking over? It's so much fun!" Crope replied with a laugh. "And her P.A's got a great butt."

Fiyero scowled.

The truth was that he had been trying his damnest to not look over these last 2 weeks. After that awkward hand holding incident with Elphaba on the plane – coupled with the discovery of her relationship with the mysterious 'T.H' – Fiyero hadn't been able to look at her the same way.

Now every time he caught himself looking over, he could only see 'Elphaba Thropp, woman attached' instead of 'Elphaba Thropp, green demon'.

He wasn't quite sure why this new piece of information had changed the way he looked at her, but it did. And now all he could think about was how Elphaba might be like as a _girlfriend_.

The thought of her being _domestic_ and saying things like ' _Hey baby_ ' or ' _I love you, pookie!_ ' made him want to smash his head in with a hammer.

He wasn't even sure if Elphaba Thropp knew how to flirt!

Just the idea of her standing next to a man at an event, her arm hanging off of his, just being with him and looking at him with her hazel eyes, framed by long, dark lashes…. Giving him a small peck on his cheek with those exotic, grey lips…

"Yero, are you getting a fever or something? You're blushing!"

"W-What?" Fiyero all but leapt out of his seat, standing on his feet now as he awkwardly brushed his trousers.

Tibbett looked at his friend with a cocked brow while Crope watched curiously.

"You alright, friend?" Tibbett asked seriously.

Fiyero cleared his throat and laughed, loosening his tie, "Nothing, just – geez, is it warm in here or what?"

The two PR guys looked at each other in confusion, and then back at Fiyero. Very quickly, the vinkun made up some excuse about having to meet Glinda for dinner and all but stumbled out of his office.

* * *

It didn't make sense to him why, only after 10 hours of barely speaking to each other, he was feeling all worked up over a stupid hand hold.

Maybe it was because he disliked her so much?

It sounds stupid but maybe he was so repulsed by her as a person that his body was getting all feverish as if it was trying to burn out all the Elphaba bacteria swimming around in his bloodstream right now.

Fiyero groaned dramatically as he sunk deeper into his bathtub, letting the warm water come up to his chin.

He was overthinking it.

It was probably because he was spending so much time with Glinda, and Elphaba was bound to come up in a conversation or two, since the two girls were bestfriends. And this _naturally_ equated to more time spent thinking about Elphaba Thropp because she kept being mentioned now – right?

Yes, of course! It is exactly the reason why the evil green woman was popping up in his head so often.

She is the bestfriend of the girl he's going out with, so naturally, she would appear more frequently in his thoughts. And also because her office is right across the street from his, it was a completely natural bodily process to want to glance over to see what's going on over there.

Fiyero grinned to himself, proud that he'd finally figured out what was going on in his head. He had nothing to worry about. The hand holding thing was only because he now knew that she was attached and his body's reaction – although delayed – was to throw it back at her face and scoot as far away from her as possible.

That electric feeling when their skin touched was nothing at all. That singular pause in space and time had only happened in his booze muddled brain.

He hadn't seen her face to face since they parted ways when they got off the plane. Maybe once he was able to address the hand thing, his stupid guilt would finally stop eating him up from the inside out.

And that mysterious 'T.H'.

Maybe once he met the man – or woman, who knows? – His brain would stop trying to imagine Elphaba in a domestic setting… Just the thought of Elphaba being somebody's girlfriend… He shuddered.

The image just seemed so _wrong_.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it—"He grumbled to himself as he quickly washed off the soap on his body and got out of the bathtub. If he continued that line of thought, it would only bring trouble. There was no reason to allow Elphaba Thropp to remain in his mind for so long.

He wrapped a clean towel around his hips and shuffled out of his bathroom. The cool air of his empty apartment was a welcome feeling – at least it gave him something else to think about other than 'she-who-shall-not-be-named'.

He wandered off into his kitchenette and made himself a cold turkey sandwich and poured a tall glass of apple juice. It wasn't really dinner, but at least it was something to help tide him over until breakfast.

He'd lied to Tibbett and Crope about having dinner with Glinda. Fiyero just really needed some time alone, especially with all the weird things swimming around in his head recently. He took a seat on his couch and switched on his TV. He hadn't had the chance to use the damned thing ever since he bought it 2 years ago.

It was nice, just sitting alone with a sandwich in his towel. He felt free – so free in fact that he didn't even care that his curtains weren't drawn. His neighbours could be getting a free show for all he cared. He was proud of his physique.

An hour into his manly-man alone time, Fiyero was startled by the sound of his doorbell ringing. He was sure that he wasn't expecting anyone, so he simply tucked his towel securely and strolled towards the door.

"Hey Fiyero look—"

Crope stared blankly.

Fiyero stared back.

Tibbett scratched at a spot on his chin.

And Glinda flushed.

* * *

"You could've said something, y'know?"

Fiyero, who'd been pouring some water for everyone, stopped half way and looked up at Tibbett. The dark haired man took one of the filled glasses and sipped. Fiyero shrugged.

"I was so sure I could get away with it." He stuck his tongue out playfully. "I needed sometime alone, but I didn't want you guys to feel like I dumped you."

"So you used Glinda as your excuse. Well too bad for you, we bumped into her while we were strolling down 3rd Avenue to get Crope's watch sent in for repairs."

"Yeah, well, I tried." Fiyero chuckled. He took a glance at his friend, noticing how pasty his face looked. "Are you sick, Tibby? You don't look very good."

"Wow, thanks." Tibbett snarked good-naturedly. He smiled, but it seemed forced. Fiyero folded his arms across his chest and raised a brow at him.

Tibbett took another sip from the glass, "What? Are you trying to seduce me, Mr Tiggular?" He smirked, wriggling with brows at him.

Fiyero, still bare-chested and standing around with a towel around his hips, rolled his eyes, "You've been acting really weird these couple of weeks, and you're just tired all the time. What's going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tibbett sighed, putting the water down and shoving his hands into his trouser pockets. "I'm fine, just look at me. It's just my Quoxan skin not looking too hot in the grody Emerald City air." He beamed brightly.

Fiyero wasn't convinced, but Tibbett wasn't going to indulge. "I'll bring this out for them." He said suddenly, grabbing some of the glasses off the counter. He eyed the vinkun up and down for a second, shaking his head lightly, "You should probably go get dressed."

The vinkun watched as his friend brought the drinks out. Something didn't feel right with Tibbett, but it wasn't his place to pry. He just hoped that it wasn't anything too serious.

It took only a couple of minutes for Fiyero to slip on his old boarding school physical ed tee and his pyjama pants. When he came out from his room and into his living area, Crope and Tibbett were already making themselves comfortable while Glinda laughed demurely at their crass commentary on life in the Arjiki office.

"Would you look at that?" Crope exclaimed wryly as Fiyero took a seat by Glinda on the couch. "D'Avalos Acadamy. Isn't that the fancy-pantsy boarding school out in Ev?"

Fiyero puffed his chest out, allowing his sculpted muscles to stretch the fabric, " _Via Veritas Vita._ "

"Pffft! Snob!"

Glinda laughed, touching his chest lightly. He looked over to her and winked, feeling his ego swell when he noticed the soft blush on her cheeks. Tibbett, who sat on one side of the loveseat with Crope, made gagging noises. "We'll leave in a bit, keep it in your pants until then, mister Tiggular."

Fiyero shrugged, the corner of his lips curled into a cocky smile.

"You really should've just told us that you wanted to spend the evening alone. Tibby and I wouldn't have cared much… Don't look at us like that! It's too late now! You lied to us and this is your punishment. " Crope spoke with a flair. Next to him, Tibbett nodded sagely. "And you shouldn't have used Glinda as an excuse. Good thing we saw her tonight!"

"You guys just… _found_ each other while you were walking down the street? Just like that?" Fiyero looked over to Glinda, who simply shrugged at him.

"I was just at the shop where Tibbett and Crope were headed towards when we bumped into each other." Glinda smiled, she sat close enough to Fiyero to lean into him, "Elphie's birthday is just around the corner and I was thinking of getting her a watch. At least then she won't have an excuse for being late all the time."

"Miss Elphaba's birthday? I never pegged her for an autumn baby." Tibbett commented, grey eyes widening slightly.

"In a month or so actually. She hates celebrating her birthday, but Boq and I managed to convince her to let us buy her a cake. She'll probably hate us for getting her presents this year."

Fiyero furrowed his brows as he stared at Glinda incredulously, "She hates celebrating her birthday?"

The blonde nodded, sighing wistfully, "It's this whole thing with her family and her childhood. It wouldn't be my place to say any more than that."

"And she doesn't get _presents_? But that's the best part!" Crope whined, his heart throbbed at the thought of no birthday parties and no presents. He looked over to Tibbett, "Tibby – could you _imagine_?"

His partner shook his head lightly, rubbing his lightly stubbled chin, "It's a tragedy. She's what? 24 this year?"

"24 years of no presents!" Crope cried out.

Tibbett quickly reached over and pulled him into an embrace, shushing him quietly as the gillikinese whined dramatically.

They laughed lightly at the scene and the conversation quickly ebbed into other things.

* * *

It was quite an image in Fiyero's apartment right now, with Glinda leaning against his chest as they sat on one end of the couch, while Tibbett and Crope claimed the other end.

He should be afraid.

The last time a gathering like that had occupied his apartment was when he was with Sarima. He didn't want his relationship with Glinda to turn out the same way. It had been a horrible nightmare trying to get his shit together after watching Sarima walk away from him that day.

It was the same day Crope found him completely knocked out at the back alley of some seedy bar – way out of his usual neighbourhood – his shirt speckled with his own vomit, getting pissed on by a stray cat, with his phone and wallet missing.

His two best friends, with approval from his family, tossed his sorry ass into rehab the next day. His experience in that expensive hell hole taught him nothing new. It only served to give him the time and space to clear his head.

It was in rehab that he came to the conclusion that he wasn't meant to find love.

Love.

This cheesy idea of genuine, and unadulterated devotion for another person. To _want_ to put their happiness above all and to willingly sacrifice everything for them.

He won't be feeling that way for anyone, and nobody would be feeling that way for him either – he had accepted that.

And so this thing with Glinda. He isn't expecting her to love him and only him, and he sure as hell wouldn't be flying down to her apartment to bring her soup if she texted him at 5am to tell him that she's ill.

They were having fun and that's pretty much it. He liked her, definitely. Aside from Tibbett and Crope, he hadn't enjoyed another person's company as genuinely as he enjoyed being with her.

Time got away from them.

In a blink of an eye, Fiyero found himself alone again in his bed. Just an hour earlier, his friends had bid their goodbyes and left for home – Crope and Tibbett with each other, and Glinda back to her apartment with Elphaba.

…

He thought a lot when he was in rehab.

The image of the perfectly pristine facility, with orderlies and doctors who smiled too much and watched his every move with eagle eyes… He thought about how alone he really was when the night came and he laid in his bed.

No matter how many secrets Tibbett chose to keep to himself, at least he could still lay in bed next to Crope at the end of the day, and have his partner hold him and tell him that everything was going to be alright…

Even Elphaba had someone.

The green woman, despite being the most infuriating person in the Land of Oz, had people she could easily and readily turn to if she ever needed it. She had Glinda, and her little P.A boy, Boq. And of course her mysterious T.H.

Fiyero groaned and pulled his pillow over his face.

It was back to this again – Elphaba Thropp and T.H. It had been 2 weeks since the flight and he was still thinking about it! It certainly qualified as obsessing now that he was even _losing sleep_ over it. He quickly leapt out of his bed and wandered towards to his bathroom. The medicine cabinet was yanked open and the sleeping pills were popped into his mouth.

Just 20 minutes.

It would only take 20 minutes before he could finally get his brain to stop thinking for a couple of hours.

* * *

"What are you standing around for? Coming to bed?"

"You go on ahead. I'm a little parched."

"Hmm, alright."

Crope reached over to the bedside lamps and turned them off, plunging the room into darkness. He pulled the thick blanket up to his ears and allowed himself to nod off.

Standing by the doorway, Tibett's face was gaunt.

He was feeling it.

The exhaustion and occasional chills were what hit him the hardest, and it was getting more and more difficult to hide it as time went by… The amount of money he'd spent in the last month or so was enough to set off some alarm bells, but thankfully Crope didn't seem to notice the extra spendings.

He headed to the kitchenette and poured himself a glass of water. His hands fumbled as he popped the top off the bottle of pills. He tilted the bottle, letting two fall out, and he stared.

He couldn't stop now.

…

He didn't have a choice.

* * *

Baldr Tiggular sat alone in his reading room, taking a breather away from his family. He angled his arm chair to allow him to look out the window, watching the evening rain drown out everything in the horizon.

It wasn't that he didn't like being with his family. He loved his wife and his two little rascals. Navii had stuck with him since college and all though university, and he couldn't ask for a better wife – and the kids, oh his pride and joy!

But like all the… 'well-to-do' families here in the Emerald City, the Tiggulars had their own set of problems to deal with.

His brother, Fiyero.

He was allowed to come home a little over a month or so ago. Baldr was genuinely happy for him and even bought him a new car. After that whole Sarima spectacle, Fiyero had dealt with it the only way he knew how – faceless women and enough alcohol to fill Lake Chorge.

Sometimes he blamed himself for how Fiyero turned out.

If he had paid for attention to his brother when he was growing up, maybe he wouldn't have felt the need to seek attention from other _sources_. Family was paramount, after all. The two of them had been close as kids, but sometime in the later half of their stint in boarding school, they grew apart.

It was painfully clear to everyone that Baldr had been the more… successful child –he'd managed to graduate Oz U as valedictorian, after all. Not to mention that his wife was a daughter of the illustrious Von Bilt family, where half of their lineage were leaders in the Emerald City government.

He wouldn't say that he was the better child, but he certainly dealt with the pressure their father had put on the both of them. Fiyero never knew, but their father have had high hopes for him. He'd said so himself in confidence.

But mistake after mistake, scandal after scandal – their father finally lost it after he brought Sarima home.

That girl had been Fiyero's worst mistake.

Their family had been rather lax with Fiyero and his dalliancing, letting him live his life as he pleased. But Sarima had been bad news from the start. She was vinkun, which would have been a good thing if not for the fact that her family were _Askushs_ – the lowest caste in vinkun society.

As much as they'd like to say that they were progressive people, these sorts of cultural things were still held in reverence by the vinkuns.

Not only was she an _Askush_ , Sarima had been the one to introduce Fiyero to the world of underground clubs and everything that came along with it. She clouded his brother's eyes with her filth, turning him into a drunk and her personal mutt, spending the Tiggular fortune on drugs, booze and sex.

Fiyero had even bought her a _house_.

A knock came from the door behind him, and Baldr was briefly brought out of his quiet contemplation. He found his wife standing by the door, leaning her head against the wooden frame.

"The nanny just put the boys to bed." Navii said in a soft voice. Her eyes scanned the expression on his face. "Is something wrong?"

Baldr shook his head lightly, stretching his legs out, "Needed time alone to think." He replied delicately. "I overheard some people today. Apparently my little brother is going out with Glinda Upland."

"Fiyero?" Navii stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

He nodded.

"Upland? The Thropp Co. girl?"

"The very one." Baldr sighed. He reached over to his desk and fished out a small cigar box and pulled out a choice stick. He proceeded with the motion of nipping and lighting the cigar. "I worry for him."

"She's gillikinese." Navii commented.

"And she's independent." Baldr exhaled, letting the smoke flow out from his mouth, relaxing his body as the tobacco worked its magic. "It sounds like a good deal now, but I don't know." He took a glance towards his wife, "We'll see how it goes at the Thropp Founder's Day gala in a couple of weeks."

"It'll be nice to see that green girl again," Navii remarked, "Such an interesting character."

"She certainly knows what she's doing," Baldr sighed, "Thropp stocks had a steady 20% increase in value since she took over old Peerless Thropp."

"Bless his old soul."

"He really was a hardy old man, wasn't he?"

"Nearly a hundred and ten when he died I heard."

"Gods! That man really doesn't know how to let go, does he?"

Conversation between the husband and wife died down slowly. Eventually, after Baldr had finished his cigar, the two made a move to head to bed.

On this cold autumn night, the citizens of the Emerald City slept – although some better than others.

* * *

 **A/N** I decided to throw this chapter out a little earlier, so it might feel sort of funky in certain areas.  
I'm glad that you guys are still enjoying this! The speculation about the identity of T.H were really fun to read :P  
Anyway, some Fiyero backstory in this one. Next up - Things are happening at the Thropp Co. Founder's Day ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**9.**

The Great Emerald Hall had the largest ballroom in all of the Emerald City.

Everyone – absolutely _everyone_ – have had at one point in their lives, hoped and prayed that they might attend an event held there. Only the most prestigious and magnificent galas and balls were held in the Hall, and in the exciting world of business, the Thropp Founder's Day was one of the most exclusive events that everyone who was _anyone_ in the Emerald City clamoured for an invitation.

A week before the event was to begin, the Great Hall had already begun to be decorated. The entire venue – usually open to the public for minor exhibitions and seminars – was completely closed off. Day in, day out, there were people coming in to set-up the Hall for the event. Pedestrians on the streets would stop in their tracks, just to peer through the fences to try to see what's going on.

Interesting things were always happening in the Emerald City, but the movement at the Hall signalled to something bigger and grander.

And it was with all these speculation and the up-play of the exclusive nature of the Founder's Day ball – thanks to Glinda and her team of marketers – Elphaba Thropp found herself drowning in a million emails and being hounded on her phone by people who were passive-aggressively trying to get an invitation.

She'd never felt so exhausted in her entire life.

Boq came into her office a little after lunch. He was dressed smartly in a crisp navy shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows… and a yellow ducky tie around his neck.

"What on earth is that?" Elphaba furrowed her brows. She stopped her email drafting, unable to tear her eyes away from the atrocious yellow thing.

Boq looked at her strangely, and then something seemed to finally click in his head. "Oh this? It's awesome, isn't it?" He grinned brightly, touching the fabric proudly, "It was a gift from Milla. She went home for a couple of days and came back with this."

Elphaba blinked blankly at her P.A, "Am I missing something? Usually Glinda would be around to explain the punchline."

Boq rolled his eyes at her, taking a seat on the chair in front of her desk, " _Anyway_. I've been going through your emails. There's a lot of people asking for invitations to the Founder's Day ball – yeesh."

"Let's run away, Boq. Just you and I."

"No thanks."

Elphaba groaned. She stepped out from behind her desk and went over to her pantry to make herself a cup of tea. At least tea wouldn't betray her and leave her out to deal with _people_.

It was here that her gaze caught themselves on a certain vinkun stalking about his office.

There weren't anybody else in the office with him. It was just Fiyero, walking around in circles, talking into his cellphone with a very displeased scowl on his face. Quite suddenly, he stopped pacing and his eyes flicked over to hers.

In that second, both their faces froze and something seemed to flood into their chests. She could see something come across Fiyero's face as he quickly turned away from the window and continued his conversation with his back towards the Thropp building.

Elphaba felt her face grow hot and turned away.

There had been something that changed between the two of them, ever since that horrid flight from Munchkinland back to the Emerald City. She didn't like to think about it, but she would be lying if she didn't admit that once so every often – for the last 3 weeks – she'd have recurring dreams about him.

It wasn't anything _indecent_ – heavens no. They were just disjoined, hazy images. If she inherited any of the religious fervour from her family, she would've considered them _visions_.

The dreams always started out the same. She would see herself in a black dress, something that even Glinda would approve. She was sitting on a stone bench, under a pink, flowering tree. It was almost stupidly cheesy how it looked, now that she actually thought about it, but for some reason, a man would walk towards her.

She wouldn't be able to see the man's face until he sat down next to her, and when she looked up, it was always Fiyero – with his stupid grin and twinkling green eyes.

The dream would always end just as he sat down and she recognised him.

"Should we send an official invite?"

"What?"

Elphaba jumped when she noticed that Boq had suddenly appeared next to her. "Bollocks! Don't do that!" She nearly screeched as she steadied her cup of tea.

Boq looked up at her and snorted. "Tiggular. Should we send an invite to Fiyero Tiggular?"

"I don't know." She replied honestly, sighing.

"Even if we don't, Glinda would bring him in as her plus one." Boq shrugged. "It would be better if we sent an official invite though."

"So send him an invite. I don't care."

Boq looked at her strangely, "Are you alright?"

Elphaba made no effort to reply him. She lifted the cup and sipped the tea, her mind willing itself to think of the list of errands that she needed to get done before the stupid party. She hated parties. In fact, she hated anything that required a large number of people to gather in the same venue. She simply did not enjoy being around other human beings.

Elphaba believed – very strongly – that she should be able to lead and dictate people without having to be in the same breathing space as them, which was why she so enjoyed having her own office and having her bi-weekly meetings with her department heads via virtual conference.

Boq had grown impatient with her silence and obvious efforts in ignoring him, so he snagged a couple of ginger candies off her pantry and left her office. Elphaba knew that in a little while, she would receive everything she needed to know in a strongly worded email from him. The only reason Boq even comes into the room was because he was trying to escape his paperwork.

Elphaba chose not to think about the people buzzing in and out her life at the moment and returned to her desk.

Her work in the office was simple. It may seem to people that being the leader and CEO in a major corporation might be complex and intricate, but Elphaba had gotten it down to a science. She left any and all necessary human interaction to Boq and Glinda. Any face to face meetings were stood in for by either – although it was usually Glinda.

Most times, Elphaba stayed in her office and replied to emails and read operations reports and analysis documents. Every 2 weeks, she would attend a video conference for internal presentations. Every month, she would – unwillingly – attend board meetings to fend off shareholder concerns and convince everyone that she knows what she's doing and that they should all shut up.

Day in, day out, it would be the same drill.

For most people – mainly Glinda – it would be boring and tedious work, but Elphaba enjoyed the stability. She liked regularity and sameness. Being born green and different has had that effect on her. There was enough jarring excitement in her life.

Time slipped, and in what felt like seconds, the sky outside her windows was already dark.

* * *

"You look bummed." Milla cocked her head slightly as she looked over to Boq. The nights were getting a little chillier these days and she had her coat buckled tightly and her hands shoved in her pockets.

The munchkin chuckled and shrugged lightly, trying to look more excitable than he really felt.

"Lots of things to deal with these couple of days. The gala is getting closer and people are getting really wound up." He laughed defeatedly, "It's not a fun time to be Elphaba's P.A right now."

"Was it any fun before?" Milla joked lightly, bumping her shoulder with the slightly shorter Boq.

He blushed at the contact as he continued strolling down the sidewalk with her, "It's… interesting. That's for sure." They rounded a corner, "E-enough about me. How was _your_ day?"

Milla smiled sweetly, her eyes seemed to shine despite the foggy air in the Emerald City, "Nothing as cool as you were doing today." She shrugged, "There were data to analyse and meetings to sit quietly in."

"I think what you do is cool." Boq replied shyly.

"We gotta redefine your definition of cool," Milla laughed. Boq noticed that when she laughed, her entire face scrunches. He liked that.

The streets around them were quiet tonight, and it them feel as if they were the only two people around. It must look strange to the occasional passer-bys – seeing a gillikinese girl and a munchkin boy walking side by side.

"But seriously! You've been looking really stressed out. Something up with Founder's Day?" Milla prodded lightly. Boq could only think of how much he liked the sound of her voice.

He relented, only because she was surprisingly persistent and he really just wanted to continue talking to her. "The people from 'Grizzle Tech' has been really pushy lately. Their company has been growing exponentially in the last 3 years, but mainly because they've buying up a bunch of smaller companies." He picked a lint off his woollen coat distractedly, "They want to partner up with us to launch some mega-ultra-secret tech project thing, but Elphaba didn't like how their company operates so she rejected the proposal – they haven't stopped trying to reach her since."

"If they've been bugging us for so long, why are you only getting frazzled by them now?"

Boq sighed, "I guess dealing with both the gala and Grizzle both at the same time is really getting to me. For some reason, they've been getting extra pushy lately." He chuckled worriedly as he glanced over to Milla, "You know that I wasn't supposed to tell you that, right?"

"I'm gonna get so rich selling this piece of information to Arjiki Tradings." She winked at him playfully, and burst out laughing when she saw the mortification on Boq's face. "I'm joking! I'm joking!" She chuckled as she punched him on his shoulder very lightly.

Her hand lingered on his bicep, and Boq felt his entire body burn up at their proximity. They had stopped walking and they were just standing there, in the middle of the sidewalk. There were no cars around, and no other people either. It was almost as if the entire world had disappeared and it was only the two of them.

At least, that was how he felt.

There was something about the way she was looking at him, and this pause in space and time allowed him to notice the heart shape of her face, the thick lashes framing her warm, brown eyes… She had mentioned before that her father was gillikin but her mother was a woman from Filaan. Boq decided that it was because of this that gave her the beautiful mix of pale gillikinese skin and soft filaanian hair and eyes.

"So, I guess this is it." She said in a quiet voice, her hand was shoved back into her coat. "Thanks for staying so late with me in the office, and for walking me all the way to my apartment."

It was only the sound of her voice that would bring him back down to earth. Boq blinked blankly and noticed that they were standing in front of her apartment building. The walk from the office to her apartment was much too short for his taste.

"Y-yeah." He wanted to slap himself for that little hitch in his voice.

Milla laughed lightly, and Boq was sure that her smile was the cure to any and all bad things that would ever befall in the land of _everything_. He smiled back shyly, already hearing his heart pounding in his ears.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked.

"S-sure!"

Milla grinned, and she leaned in, pressing her lips to his cheek. When he dared to breathe again, she was already gone, and he was left standing on the sidewalk with a goofy smile on his face.

* * *

It's 12.30pm when she awoke.

It is a sort of slow ascend as she pushed the blond strands off of her face. Her hand reached out to her bedside table and searched irritably for her alarm clock, only to find out that she had already knocked it over to the floor in her restless sleep.

She wasn't usually so sloppy.

Glinda prided herself on being clean and presentable all the time. But it was just today. The thought of having to get up, and arrange herself into the perfect human specimen that she was known to the public, was dreadful at best. The Founder's Day gala was happening tonight, and she could already feel it her bones that it was going to be a long night.

Usually, she would be happy enough to deal with all the networking and socializing – she did it for a living after all – but there seemed to be extra stress in her system this year. The world of business was normally dull as bricks but something seemed to be stirring in the air, and Glinda could just feel that something bad was going to happen soon. Tonight seemed like it would be the catalyst to some nefarious plot.

She got up and checked her phone, predictably finding a million and one texts and phone calls from Boq and her people in the marketing and PR department. It wasn't like her to miss work without giving them a heads up.

She brought up Boq's contact and called. "Hey Boq—"

"—Glinda! Are you alright?! Are you hurt? Were you kidnapped?!"

"Geez! Calm down!" She yelled right back at him, feeling her head pound at the sound of his voice. "I'm fine! I must've knocked out cold after last night's gala prep session. I found my alarm clock on the floor when I woke up about 10 minutes ago."

There was sighing on the other end.

"Oz almighty." The sound of his voice picked up again, "You're still coming tonight, right? It's going to suck so bad if you weren't coming."

"I'll be there tonight. Just – tell Clarissa that I won't coming in today. I gotta go sleep off this nasty feeling in my head before the gala."

"Will do."

An hour later, after a light brunch which consisted of some eggs and a portion of leftover chicken from the previous night and a quick shower, Glinda found herself towel-drying her golden wavy locks and plopping herself back into bed. She had set her alarm to go off at 5pm, which gave her just enough time to prepare herself for the gala.

She made sure to leave Fiyero a text, reminding him to pick her up tonight at 7.

The two of them were in an interesting stage in their relationship, she realized as her brain drifted in and out of consciousness. They had been going out for nearly a month now and it had been pretty satisfying – at least for her.

Fiyero knew exactly what he was doing. He said the right things and made the right moves. Glinda dated enough guys like him to know that he's one experienced guy. The one difference between him and the other men was that underneath it all, he does genuinely care. Just the way that he interacts with Tibett and Crope was enough to convince her that Fiyero did have something special about him.

Although, after spending this amount of time together with him, Glinda was beginning to wonder if they were only together because they made sense, or if they actually liked each other. She enjoyed his looks and his physique – of course – and she certainly liked him as a person, but aside from that, she didn't have many opinions about her feelings towards him.

Most of the time they spent together were in his bed, or hers – it depends on which was closer. The few times that they had actually attempted to go on a _date_ , it was hard to deny the silence between them after the casual flirting and generic topics were exhausted.

Glinda sighed loudly as she pulled her comforter over her head. That was enough thinking for today. She would be seeing him again in a few hours and she's going to need all the sleep she could get before tonight.

* * *

"Lights! Camera!"

The courtyard in front of the Great Emerald Hall is filled with people. The lush green grass was all but trampled on by the human traffic crowding all around, each trying to squeeze past their neighbour to get a better photo op of the VIPs arriving in stretched limousines. The long red carpet was rolled out as celebrities and important people from the business strolled and sashayed down, ravelling in the attention and flashing lights.

Boq brushed at his black tuxedo jacket as he glanced around nervously. He had a tablet held firmly in his arms and an earpiece in his right ear – if anything went wrong, it would all be reported to him. Tonight had to be absolutely perfect.

There were towering private security men stationed in every corner of the venue – imported from Quox. TV correspondents and paparazzi had their field day, snapping photographs and waving at the celebrities hysterically, trying to get an interview.

Music throbbed in the background, engulfed by all the cheering and screaming – it was almost like a giant carnival.

"Welcome, everyone, to the 75th Annual Thropp Founder's Day Gala!" An announcer's voice blared from the sound system, but nobody seemed to notice. Everyone was too engrossed with all the photo-taking and celebrity-spotting. "The medical tents are located to the west of the courtyard, please take a bottled water from some of our event helpers – sponsored by Tenmeadews Corp!"

The music continued and more limousines begin to pull up at the roundabout.

Boq straightened his arm out and checked his watch. In about 20 minutes, the main event hall would be opened and the guests – who were now either getting photographed at the media centre or just lolling around the courtyard – would be ushered in. The bartenders and servers are ready and the stage is prepped.

The only ingredient left is…

"Boq!"

The sound of Glinda's voice came as a relief. Boq could actually feel his muscles relax slightly, although now they ached because of how tense he'd been all day. He spun around, grinning as Glinda – dressed in a very elegant blue, sparkly dress – threw herself at him. He hugged back tightly, noticing the look on Fiyero Tiggular's face and smirking back at him.

"Hey you." He greeted belatedly as she detached herself from him and quickly slinked her arm back into Fiyero's. "Have you walked the carpet?"

"We did! We've actually arrived almost 20 minutes ago, but there's just too many people crowding the area." She rubbed Fiyero's forearm absentmindedly. "Is everything going okay?"

Boq tapped on the tablet, "As smooth as it gets. We've got another…" he checked his watch again, "16 minutes to go before we're opening the main hall. Which reminds me, have you seen Elphie?"

For some reason, Fiyero stiffened. Boq raised a brow at him, but Glinda didn't seem to notice. She smirked, "I hired a team of preppers and they waited in her apartment. They caught her just as she arrived – she didn't stand a chance."

"Sweet." Boq pulled a thumbs up.

"She should be arriving soon. I got her a black limo."

Even as Glinda finished that sentence, a luxurious black limousine pulled up at the roundabout. The paparazzi who were stationed there saw all but the first glimpse of green as the driver opened the door for his passenger, but it was all they needed to see to know who was coming out of that vehicle.

Seconds later, almost the entire crowd had shifted towards the front, all flashing their cameras and shoving their microphones at Elphaba.

* * *

The noise was unbearable. Nobody seemed to be speaking Ozian anymore and everything sounded like gibberish.

Elphaba groaned inwardly as she put on her most stoic face. It wasn't hard, since she hardly felt like herself in all the layers of makeup. She was afraid that if she moved at all, an entire chunk of foundation would fall right off her face.

People all around her were shoving their cameras everywhere and screaming at her to get her attention. She was ready to punch a photographer in the face when he literally shoved his lenses 3 inches from her nose.

The photographer was saved by the timely arrival of Boq, however.

"Elphie! Do you want to head to the media centre?" He shouted over the noise as he led her down the red carpet. She nearly tripped over the occasional bumps on the floor, cursing quietly at her stupid heels.

"What made you think I'd want to do that?!" She finally yelled back.

"There's lesser people there! We're kind of using it as a holding area—"

"—how long is this stupid carpet?"

"Miss Thropp! Look over here!"

Stupidly, Elphaba turned and a blinding flash turned her eyeballs into soup. For the next few seconds, she would see white spots in the edges of her vision. She wanted to stop walking – go back there and sock that photographer on the nose.

Boq pulled her away, walking her down the carpet like her tiny little champion in a pressed, black tuxedo. He shouted at her again, "Glinda's just arrived with Fiyero!"

"Glinda just alived falsettos?!"

"What?" the munchkin crushed his brows together in confusion and yelled, "Did you say something about fillet toes?"

"What in Oz are fill laid toads?!"

Boq made a face at her and shook his head, and Elphaba thought nothing of it as he simply led her beyond the carpet walk. Gigantic security men stood in attention at the end of the red carpet that led into the media centre. Anyone without the proper passes or invitations would be tossed.

Once they were away from the crowd, Elphaba found herself in a smaller crowd. The media were still made to stand behind red rope – and glared at by more security guards – but it was a tamer experience.

They shifted as far away from the media as they possibly could, and Boq began again, "I was trying to tell you that Glinda just arrived with Fiyero."

"Oh! I thought you said something about falsettos."

"Falsettos?!"

"Elphie! You made it!"

Boq was quickly forgotten as Elphaba was spun around by the blonde marketing director. Glinda squeezed, wrapping herself around Elphaba, pinning the green woman's arms to her body. Elphaba quickly realized that she was trapped, and knowing Glinda, she simply relented and allowed her friend to do whatever she wanted.

"Yes, hi." Elphaba said in a deadpan voice as she fought to prevent the corner of her lips from upturning. There was a snort that came off from someone just a little to her left and immediately, her eyes were levelled with one Fiyero Tiggular. "I forget that you've come together with _him_." She said it just loud enough that he would hear it too.

Glinda released her, rubbed her hands down Elphaba's arms and clutched her hands tightly, "Elphie…" she scolded lightly.

"Right, right. Civil." Elphaba smiled, albeit a little condescendingly.

Glinda took whatever she could get out of her, however, and decided to let it slide. Before she could say another word, the ushers were funnelling everyone into the main hall for the event. Boq followed Elphie in faithfully while Glinda allowed herself to be escorted by Fiyero. The party of 4 was then led by the ushers and immediately handed a champagne flute each when they passed the door.

"I'll be right back." Boq assured Elphaba quietly, and before she could take a breath to protest, he was gone.

"Where's he going?" Fiyero asked with a raised brow. He turned around and looked at Elphaba expectantly, causing the confused Glinda to do the same.

The green woman simply shrugged. Truthfully, she was beginning to feel anxious without Boq by her side. She could already see the Thropp business partners eyeing her and plotting the closest path to her location. Without Boq to fend them off for her, she was helpless. Glinda could only distract them with frivolous small talk for so long.

With a deep breath, Elphaba prepared herself for the long night ahead.

* * *

 **A/N** I'm back! Sorry that it took so long for me to post this. It's been a rough holiday season. Somebody I cared about got into a car accident the week before christmas and it had been hell since. I wrote a little during the downtime but the quality was pretty crap. Hope you guys had a better one than me! And remember to keep safe on the roads.


	10. Chapter 10

**10.**

"20 years! We were brothers in arms – one time we even slept with the same woman—"

"—a-ah! Mr Jessup, have you tried the shrimp martini? It's an acquired taste but you might like it." Glinda laughed nervously as she quickly picked up a glass from a passing server. Mr Jessup was very pleased with the offering and everyone was thankful for the pause in that particular conversation.

Fiyero smiled charmingly, his arm around Glinda's waist felt almost numb from holding it there for so long, "Miss Kustch. How was the move from Filaan to the Emerald City?"

The woman next to Mr Jessup laughed demurely, her gaze had been set on Fiyero all evening and it had been hard for him pretend to not notice. "Harrowing, my dear. I do miss the beautiful pines and mountains in Filaan, but my lifestyle is much suited for the city."

"Well, hopefully you'll be staying here for a good long time."

"Indeed, we might see each other around sometime."

Jessup nudged Glinda discretely, "Watch out girl – Kustch is on the prowl for vinkun meat!"

The party laughed, albeit a little awkwardly.

Conversation flowed and another 20 minutes later, Glinda and Fiyero had already spoken to over 5 different sets of people. It was a nice set up they had here at the ball, beautifully decorated location with wonderfully entertaining segments and bits for the event, it was quite a sight.

When they finally had a second to themselves, Glinda's eye widened, "Oh dear. Have you seen Elphie?"

He furrowed his brows. "She said that she was going to the washroom."

"That was 45 minutes ago."

"Mayb—"

"—Glinda Upland! We've been looking all over for you! How very long it has been!"

Fiyero noticed the defeated sag on Glinda's shoulders as they watched another group of people approach them. She touched his arm, "Find Boq. He'll know where she's hiding."

"Hiding?"

Glinda said with a little laugh, "She hates the talking and the pretending. Just go get Boq. I'll be here."

* * *

It shouldn't this hard to find a munchkin man in a sea of gillikinese fancy pants.

Fiyero had been scouring the hall for the last 5 minutes, sweating slightly under his tuxedo. Nobody seemed to know where Boq had gone. He'd even bumped into his brother and his wife – who berated him briefly for the unkemptness of his hair.

"Have you guys seen a munchkin man – about ye tall?" He held his hand to his shoulder. Was that how tall Boq was? He didn't really know. It wasn't like he was paying much attention.

"No we haven't seen a munchkin man lolling around. Why are you asking? And where's your little girlfriend? Did you abandon her somewhere? We spoke about this, Fiyero." Baldr asked a little impatiently.

"I don't have time for this." Fiyero rolled his eyes and left.

He searched around for a little longer but absolutely nobody knew where Boq had gone. It was then that he decided to search in the back, where all the servers and attendants were running about, keeping their patrons' champagne flutes full and the buffet table filled with food.

He slipped out unnoticed and wandered around the empty corridors for a bit. The halls were carpeted with rich red fur and the walls were a cream marble. It was almost insane how extravagant this entire place was.

"Boq?" He called out awkwardly, but there was no response. He walked down the hall briskly, his footsteps muffled by the carpet, and it was then that he heard voices from the corner off from the end of the hall.

"—true, but it has been a long time. I'm sure that there's something we can do about this."

It was a masculine voice. Very pleasant. Almost baritone.

"There's nothing you can say to change my mind. What you're doing – it's not something I can forgive."

This was Elphaba's voice.

"We can make it work. You just have to have faith. This relationship—"

"—faith is a little bit of a touchy subject for me, and there never was a relationship. Leave."

Fiyero had almost laughed at the dripping sarcasm from Elphaba. He took this moment to turn the corner and walked in on the two of them.

The man was tall – 6 feet at least and dressed very smartly. For some odd reason, the lighting in this particular corridor was damaged and it was hard to make out any remarkable features on Elphaba's mysterious visitor.

The man took a glance at Fiyero and lowered his face to Elphaba, "We both know that this isn't the end." He took one of her hands and kissed it, finally leaving in the opposite direction.

The hall was left with Elphaba and Fiyero.

There was a beat of silence before Fiyero spoke as he stepped towards her. "Boyfriend? Ex-lover? Bang on the side?"

Elphaba closed the distance almost angrily, "None of your business. What are you doing back here? You left Glinda out there alone?"

Ah that anger. It was something that Fiyero had instinctively tied to Elphaba. The hazel eyes shone bright with emotion and her green skin was really growing on him. It seemed less like seaweed and more like smooth jade.

Of course, he would never admit that.

"You were gone for almost 45 minutes. We were worried – well, Glinda was."

"I was distracted." She replied curtly.

"I can tell." He snorted, "He's pretty intense, isn't he? You like that in a man?"

Elphaba's jaw locked, and her eyes narrowed. "I am very close to socking you in the face. The only reason why I haven't done so already is because I'd have to explain to Glinda why I beat up her boyfriend and left him to bleed dry in a dark corridor."

"You really hate me don't you?"

"Well aren't you a smart little cookie."

"I like Glinda. I really do. And I can see us going the distance. I thought I would never be ready to call someone my _girlfriend_ for a long time, but I like really like Glinda." He looked her straight in the eyes, unwilling to turn away. "You're her best friend – family, really – and you hate me. Do you see where this is going?"

"You find Glinda a better boyfriend and then leave the country forever?"

"Ha. Cute, but no." He rolled his eyes, "We have to start playing nice or Glinda's going to leave the both of us."

Elphaba stiffened slightly at the thought, "No she won't. She'll leave you probably – scratch that – eventually. But not me. We've been through a lot together."

Fiyero chose to ignore that. "We're going to have to get along. The animosity between us is stressing her out and we don't want that." He reached his hand into his pocket, "and because I'm such a charming, handsome, bright-eyed genius, I propose a solution."

Elphaba seemed unimpressed, although her body seemed to relax a little bit – the dress suited her, he noticed belatedly.

Fiyero fished out his phone from his pocket and tapped on his calendar app. "We'll go on a 'friendship date'. Maybe if we knew a little more about each other, we'll hate each other less."

"I don't want to go on a date with you."

"It's not a real date – woman, please."

She flipped him off.

"Fine, I deserved that. But the offer stands. We'll go on a date – friendship date, stop looking at me like that – and we'll talk and have lunch… like a real date but for friendship."

Elphaba looked uncertain, but she was definitely coming around to the idea. He could tell by the lack of yelling. Finally, she resigned. "I don't know the first thing about planning these things."

Fiyero grinned, his chest suddenly feeling lighter, "I'll plan the whole thing. I've gone on enough dates with women to know what works—"

"—it's not a real date." She growled.

"I. Know. That." He replied impatiently, "I'll handle it."

"Maybe the devil is real. He must've possessed me for me to even _think_ of agreeing to this stupid endeavour." Elphaba groaned to herself.

"It'll be fun. By the end of the day, we might even like each other." He smiled amusedly at the thought.

* * *

Boq touched his bowtie distractedly.

He was supposed to meet Milla by the loading bay at the back of the building. It would be secluded enough for the two of them to just be with themselves, since everyone was busying themselves with the event that was currently happening in the main hall.

Sure, he'd spent the entire evening looking for her only to receive a text that informed him that she was busy handling some 'stuff' with the techies. But at least she was the one to suggest that they should meet in 20 minutes.

Just the thought of seeing her again was making his chest feel all warm again.

They weren't technically dating, he believed. They've never talked about it explicitly and whatever they were right now, it just seemed to fall into place on its own. They talked about everything under the sun, just not about what they were doing.

This thing.

Sneaking out to talk, staying late in the office to watch funny videos together, him walking her home every other night.

It doesn't have a _label_. They enjoyed each other's company. She kissed him on the cheek. He bumped her on the shoulder when they walked side by side. It certainly _implied_ something, but they weren't dating.

It's just a thing.

Boq exhaled in exasperation. He was letting it get in his head again. He wasn't going to be the one bringing it up. No. Not tonight. Things are too perfect right now. Plus – he's looking really dapper. Glinda said so herself. He'll be fine.

Well.

He liked her. That's for sure. He already knew that. And she knew that. At least that's what he thought. Well, the implications were there. It should've been obvious enough. Unless – oh sweet Lurline – unless she believed that he was _gay_? Todd from accounting warned him about the suspenders.

"Boq! Sorry I was late, it's just so crazy out there."

His eyes were wide with fear when Milla shuffled over to him, glancing over her shoulders cautiously. She was so pretty. Her brown bob had begun to grow out to a sweepy thing that _just_ touched her shoulders and just for tonight, her cheeks were dusted with a little blush and her eyes lined with black liner. Her dark green dress hugged her body tightly and it literally made him dizzy just because of how _pretty_ she looked right now.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly as she reached out with a hand, rubbing his left arm.

"I-I'm cool. I'm fine." He managed to force out. He felt his face burn in embarrassment at the thought of her kissing him on the cheek that night, while all along believing that he was gay.

Milla looked unconvinced as she retracted her hand from his arm. "Did something happen?"

"We need to talk." He said seriously. He felt rather proud that he hadn't stuttered as he spoke.

There was a slight fall in her features when she heard those words. "O…kay? Is something wrong?"

Boq removed his jacket and folded them neatly as a means to steady his nerves. "I'm –"he coughed awkwardly, "–I'm not gay, Milla."

Milla looked at him for a long time.

* * *

"We hope that everyone is having an absolutely splendid time. We do have one final event happening here tonight, please let us welcome Miss Elphaba Thropp to the stage!"

The crowd clapped politely as Elphaba was led to the podium that had been set up for her. It was impossible to see the audience when she was up here. The stage lights were so bright, it was almost hot against her skin.

At least not seeing the faces of the people down there made it easier for her to make her speech.

"My great-grandfather, was over a hundred years old when he died. He had been but a child when the turn of the century brought in the advances of technology that allowed us build everything that we see around us."

As she spoke, she could hear the murmurs of agreement from the crowd.

"When the Eminency was abolished in Munchkinland all those years ago, my family was awarded with a large sum of money by the government. It was almost like they were saying 'we're sorry that you're not important anymore. Here have some money.'"

There were many laughs from the audience, but Elphaba didn't understand why. She was being painfully straight-faced and sarcastic. Were these people drunk?

"As the only child, Peerless Thropp would be the first heir to not hold the title of Eminent in over 300 years. And it had stuck to him until he was in his late 20s. That was when he started the company."

There was a silent montage playing behind her. The crowd seemed incredibly moved, but Elphaba simply wanted this to be over as soon as possible.

"In the very beginning, Thropp Co was Thropp & Daughters. A trading company that operated out of a warehouse in Colwen County, located in northern Nest Hardings, Munchkinland. As the name suggested, Peerless owned and operated it with his 5 daughters. By the time he was in his 50s, Thropp & Daughters became Thropp & Company and then again shortened to Thropp Co."

There were cheering and clapping. Elphaba assumed that the graphics behind her were stimulating the crowd and she promptly ignored them.

"Now, over 85 years later, I'm standing here in my great-grandfather's place as CEO and chairman of Thropp Co. To carry us onward towards a brighter future, one that Peerless had once envisioned when he started us out, grounded in that warehouse in Munchkinland. With the help from everyone here, our shareholders, partners and our faithful employees, we will defy gravity."

Defy gravity? Ridiculous. But everyone seemed to love it as people exploded into cheers and applause. Elphaba refused to smile when the photographer requested and simply stepped away from the podium and stalked off stage. The hosts quickly took back the limelight and announced that it was now the end of the evening.

Drinks and food will continue to be served but there will no longer be anymore events on the agenda. Everyone was now free to mingle as they please, until they wanted to head off. From experience, Elphaba knew that nobody would be exiting the hall till well after midnight.

"You were amazing up there!" Glinda gushed when she had found her attempting to sneak off to the halls again. The blonde crushed her friend in a hug and Elphaba wheezed for effect. "Could've used a dazzling smile or two, but it's an improvement from last year." She concluded.

Elphaba shrugged. Suddenly she was struck by a thought. "Has anyone seen Boq? He told me that he 'would be right back' and I haven't heard a peep since."

"I was looking for him too, actually. Before I found you." Fiyero was slowly recalling as well.

"What?! Where could he have gone all night?" Glinda fussed. She began searching through her contacts in her phone, looking for Boq's name.

"He's on call for tonight, wasn't he? Something went wrong?"

"Everything looked fine from the stage."

Finally, Glinda sighed. "I couldn't get to Boq, but I called Serani and she said that Boq clocked out about 20 minutes ago and handed everything over to her in a hurry. He didn't mention why or where he was going."

"He ditched me." Elphaba's eyes widened. She wasn't angry, no, she was amused, really. For some reason, Elphaba felt a strange sort of respect for Boq. She found herself wondering where he could've run off to at 10pm at night. Not home, surely. There was never anything for him to do at home. She had known from his incessant complaining over the years.

"I guess you're stuck with us tonight, aren't you?" Fiyero flashed her a strange smile which made Elphaba want to throw her shoe at him. But instead, she simply narrowed her eyes at him.

Glinda noticed the exchange and raised a perfected sculpted brow. "Am I missing something?"

"Nothing important, I assure you." Elphaba turned away from Fiyero and smiled passively at Glinda. "Champagne? I accidentally made eye contact with Tenmeadews and he's making his way here."

"Tenmeadews? As in, Avaric—"

Glinda was immediately cut off by a haughty laugh. The party of three each turned to come face to face with a tipsy Avaric Tenmeadews. As if he wasn't obnoxious enough alone, he was accompanied by two ladies, a red head and a brunette, both of whom were making eyes at Fiyero.

"Look what we have here," Avaric grinned, "Elphie Thropp! It's been a while."

"Avaric." Elphaba replied stoically.

"Mr Tenmeadews! It's good to see you again." Glinda smiled sweetly. At this, Avaric's grin grew impossibly wider.

"Miss Glinda! Every day you become even more beautiful than the day before. We _have_ to get together sometime. My father just bought a new yacht that I'm just dyingto take out for a spin." He took her hand and kissed it, winking at her suggestively. Standing next to her, however, was Fiyero, who didn't take too kindly to Avaric's forwardness.

He reached out with a hand, smiling charmingly, "Mr Tenmeadews. We've met before."

Avaric took a second to stare at Fiyero's outstretched hand, and after a beat, finally took it. The hand shake was stiff and harder than necessary. "Tiggular, wasn't it?"

"Yes. You're much more talkative in social situations aren't you?" Fiyero said with a polite laugh. The intention and meaning in that comment was only missed by the two bimbos hanging off of Avaric's arm.

The blond man snorted, "Truth be told, I was quite hungover that day. Finances. Such a bore. You must feel like killing yourself every day having to deal with that."

"It's not every man's game, that's for sure." Fiyero chuckled falsely. He felt a nudge from Glinda and quickly, he changed the topic. "So who might these two ravishing ladies be?"

When they were finally acknowledged, the two ladies seemed to perk up. The red head spoke first, her lips were plump and coated in glossy lipstick, "Pfannee. My father owns the Pfann Perfumery, amongst other things."

"Daddy was the on the news recently for a sex scandal wasn't he?" Elphaba snarked quietly to herself, although it was loud enough that both Fiyero and Glinda had heard it, causing them to stifle a snort.

The brunette introduced herself next, not having heard Elphaba comments on her friend. "Shenshen Mikos. My family owns 51% shares on Munchkin Airlines."

"We went to school together, didn't we?"

Elphaba's sudden involvement in the conversation stunned the circle. Avaric seemed tremendously amused while Shenshen and Pfannee looked absolutely horrified. Fiyero could only smile, and next to him, the only thing that was running though Glinda's head was how much she wished Boq was back here controlling the things that came out of Elphaba's mouth.

"I-I don't know what you mean!" Shenshen shot back.

Elphaba was relentless, "We did. You sat next to me in Vinkun Studies. You sanitized your elbow every time we accidentally brushed against each other."

"This is perfect!" Avaric cackled.

"Elphie, please!" Glinda seethed in a hushed voice.

"Alright fine." Elphaba resigned. She smiled politely, at her company, "Terribly sorry for that. I must've been mistaken. Allow me to withdraw from this conversation, I've got some business to attend to in the washroom."

With that, Elphaba gave Avaric and his dates a curt nod and walked away.

There was an awkward silence that ate away at them until Avaric lost it. He burst into loud, cackling laughter and wheezed, "I'm absolutely in _love_ with that woman!"

* * *

"You're really something else, aren't you?"

Elphaba stared at Fiyero's face as he said that. She had just come out of the washroom when she found him leaning against the wall, arms across his chest. He didn't look upset or anything, just slightly amused.

"I'm green, for one." She replied dryly, turning away from him and walking away.

He followed her, keeping up with her pace easily. Irritation began to crawl on her skin – just how persistent can one guy be?

"What's up with you and Tenmeadews?"

"What? Avaric?" Elphaba paused, confused by his chosen topic of conversation. "Why are you asking?"

"I'm curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat." She narrowed her eyes at him to make her point. Fiyero simply shrugged.

"It just seemed like you two knew each other."

"We work in the same business. Our paths were bound to cross one way or another." Elphaba began her brisk walk again, "Why on earth were you waiting outside the washroom?!"

"Glinda sent me to find you. She was worried that you might've gone hiding."

"Avaric and his two bimbos gone yet?" She asked with a sigh.

Fiyero's eyes twinkled with mischief, "Were you jealous? I'm thinking that you and Avaric had a thing and now you're jealous that he's brought two bombshells to the party."

Elphaba's eye glazed over as she stared at Fiyero incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"He called you 'Elphie'. Only Glinda and Boq ever called you Elphie."

"He's delusional and his only goal in life is to waste his entire family's fortune and to torture me with his presence in the most inconvenient of places."

Fiyero shrugged, "He said that he was in love with you."

At this, Elphaba paused. She glanced over to Fiyero and noticed how blank he seemed to look. He was being serious. She didn't know if bursting out into maniacal laughter was a good idea right this moment.

Something about it bugged her, however, and she asked, "Why do _you_ care."

"I don't." He replied almost instantly, albeit a little forcefully. "I just think that it's interesting to know that Avaric Tenmeadews is in love with you. He didn't look the type."

She rolled her eyes, "In fear that you might actually be stupid enough to think that he loved me, I'm going to say this: No. He is not in love with me. He was pulling your leg, as he always does. Nothing is ever serious with Avaric. We went to school together at one point in my life and that was how we first met."

Fiyero stared at her for a long time and Elphaba was tempted to simply walk away. But a second later, the corner of his lips twitched, as if he was forcing back a smile. "You are an interesting woman." He said finally.

"And you need to leave me alone." She retorted, turning away from him and stalking off, back to the main hall where Glinda waited for them.

* * *

It had been such a strange night tonight, Glinda felt.

The first oddity being Boq's disappearance. It was very unlike him to run off without so much as a call to either Elphie or herself. He was usually such a stick in the mud about being on the grid at all times. She'd have to roast him a little bit when they returned to work on Monday.

The second oddity – which was frankly the larger oddity – was how _civil_ Elphie and Fiyero seemed to be with each other tonight. They tolerated each other, that was for certain, in the beginning of the event, but when Fiyero had come back from his search for Boq and Elphaba, they had actually seemed… well… amiable. It was the strangest thing. She was happy, of course, but she couldn't help but wonder what might've happened.

The gala was a huge success and she was sure that come Monday, her inbox would be filled with congratulatory emails. It was closing in to 2am now and most of the guests have already headed home. The only people left mulling around were the staff and a few shareholders discussing one thing or another.

"I've called us a cab. It should be here in 20 minutes." Fiyero said as he finished with his phone call. Elphaba and Glinda both made noises of approval. Sleep was the only thing on their minds right now.

"I'll be going home tonight." Elphaba said with a small yawn, "my legs are killing me."

"Why isn't there a seat around here?" Glinda complained tiredly, "There is literally no place to sit."

Fiyero looked over the two girls with great amusement. "This is something I won't get to see every day."

"Shut up, you giant lumbering _man_. You don't have to stand around all night in stupid heels." Elphaba growled weakly. "Can I take them off? There's nobody important here anyway." She pleaded to Glinda.

"No, Elphie!"

"I hate heels!"

"Do you want me to come home with you tonight?" Fiyero asked, cutting into the enlightening conversation. Glinda looked up at him and pursed her lips.

"I don't know. Do you want to come over?"

Elphaba began to make gagging noises.

"Don't be such a child, Elphie." Glinda tapped her friend on the shoulder. She turned to address Fiyero, but paused when she noticed the look on his face as he watched Elphaba. That smile. She'd never seen it on him before.

His eyes flicked over to hers, and the smile disappeared, "Something wrong?"

"No, not really. Maybe you should head home tonight. I'll probably be knocked out all night anyway." She replied hurriedly. Her deflection earned her a concerned stare from Elphaba and raised brows from Fiyero. He seemed curious but said nothing.

Just moments later, their cab arrived and sleep was the only thing on their minds.

* * *

 **A/N** I've got a pretty good idea of where this story would be headed, and I've got maybe 25 chapters planned out.  
I'd like to apologize to readers who're seeking fluffy fiyeraba right at the get go. Unfortunately, I'm more of a slow burn kind of writer :P  
It would probably be a little while before our favourite pair would get together, but at least they're civil with each other now!

Since the traffic seems to be a little slow for the last chapter, I'd just reply to the reviews here.  
Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - No worries. She's got a couple of fractured bones and purple bruises, but she's a champion. I've switched to working from my home office to care for her, so I find myself writing a bunch when things started feeling bleak.  
Thanks for your review! And don't worry. I saw what you meant! Thanks for the heads up :)

Mother yackel - Yeah... Things happen, and we'll just have to deal with it. Life goes on, etc etc. Thanks for being here :)  
"Something wicked this way comes!" That's awesome! If only you knew what I've got planned down the road :P


	11. Chapter 11

**Warning: Slightly mature themes in this chapter.**

* * *

 **11.**

The sound of two people climaxing echoed through the apartment. Gasps of pleasure and heavy breathing filled the air – amongst the scent of sex and sweat. And despite their current activities, it was hardly warm enough in the apartment for one to be comfortable in the nude, so they huddled together under the thick blankets.

She giggled as he nuzzled her neck, his morning scruff tickling her. He kissed a trail down from her chin to the hollow of her collarbones, resting, finally, on her chest. "You like it there, don't you?" She asked with a toothy smile, clearly still delirious from their activities seconds ago.

"Might be a munchkin thing." He chuckled, kissing her again and rolling off of her, back to his side of the bed. "Most of us only ever reach that height." He turned his head to her, observing the contours of her cheeks in the morning. She smiled, her eyes half-lidded.

Milla pulled the blanket to her chin, "So you're one of the taller munchkins then?"

"Taller than the usual bunch," Boq admitted. He propped himself, laying on his side, and swept a lock of chocolate brown hair from her face.

"Well, as long as you're tall enough to reach the places that I need you to reach…"

At this, Boq threw himself on top of her again and they wouldn't emerge from beneath the sheets until Milla's phone began ringing obnoxiously. It was a three chord tune in a fairly familiar progression.

"Shhhhh." He swatted at Milla's hand as she reached for the offending device. It laid on the bedside table, vibrating and calling at its owner to pick up. Just a few more rings, and it would stop. Boq pulled her into a hug, playfully preventing her from turning over.

Milla laughed against his chest, "It might be important!"

He could only groan as he reluctantly released her.

Milla checked the caller id and frowned. Boq hadn't seen who called but in an instant, he could tell that she wasn't in the mood any more. She glanced over to him and indicated that she had to take this call, and for some reason, she looked almost guilty. "I have to take this."

Boq waved her off with a reassuring smile.

She got off his bed and quickly threw on a shirt she found on the floor. His, of course – she came home with him in a dress. He watched as she picked up the call and headed out to his kitchenette to carry the conversation.

He took this time to wonder how he'd gotten into this position.

There was a ton of kissing and love making, of course, but this – this image of him waking up naked next to Milla. It was something that came straight out of his wet dreams. The last thing that happened was back at the Emerald Hall where the gala was held.

He recalled telling Milla that he wasn't gay, and she stared at him for a long time. Very suddenly, she had pushed her lips against his and they were full on making out. Her entire body was pressed up against his and he had felt like he was standing on clouds.

She had laughed, telling him that she knew. It just seemed so silly, and sweet, coming from him. One thing led to another and he found himself leading her home and 20 seconds into that, their clothes were magically tossed around the room and they were just doing it.

He grinned as he thought about that.

Of course, there will be repercussions for their actions. The company had a very strict rule about fraternization. That one time Boq had been around to see an employee being let go for breaking company policy was when Freddie and Emma from Media Relations were caught making out at one of the department bonding parties at a local bar.

The next working day, the both of them were seen packing up their things from their desks and walking out of the building in shame.

He didn't want that. He couldn't let that happen to Milla. But he knew Elphaba. She would try to bend the rules for him – Oz knows how little she cares for stifling rules – but the anti-fraternization policy was one that even she couldn't overlook.

If she let her employees go around freely dating each other, nobody would be paying attention to their work. The ladies from Marketing would _definitely_ be the first to get targeted and Glinda wouldn't be very happy either. Of course, not to mention the looks and the gossip. It's an internal relations nightmare.

They couldn't let anyone know about this.

Not if they wanted to keep their jobs.

* * *

"What do you guys usually do on a date?"

Tibbett looked over to Crope, who in turn raised a brow at his partner. The both of them then turned their attention back to the person who asked the question in the first place.

Fiyero was leaning back on his arm chair with his feet on the desk. He glanced between his friends, anticipating their answer. There wasn't even a hint of awkwardness when the question was posed, which hinted at how serious he actually was.

"Why would _you_ – of all people – ask this question?" Crope blinked blankly.

Fiyero clucked impatiently, "I'm trying to plan a thing, but I'm coming up dry. It's not a regular date."

Tibbett shrugged, "Movie? Dinner? Club?"

"We just do really boring stuff until we decide to go home and have sex." Crope added nonchalantly. The partners high-fived each other without having to look, as if they had rehearsed it at home. This, in turn, caused Fiyero to roll his eyes at them.

"I'm not going to sleep with her, geez."

"Not going to—"Crope sat at attention now, "—wait, who are you planning this date for?"

"Friendship Date with Elphaba Thropp." Fiyero said with an impish grin, "I call it a 'Frate'."

"Afraid?" Tibbett looked at him strangely.

"Frate. Fr-ate." He emphasized.

Crope laughed out loud, "Stop trying to make 'Frate' a thing, Yero."

The vinkun stuck his tongue out. "Anyway. We're going out together, just the two of us. We're going to get to know each other, maybe do some stuff that we like, and possibly become friends."

"And why in the name of the Wizard himself would you want to do that?"

"She's Glinda's best friend. If I want to make my life easier, I'm going to want to get along with her." Fiyero clucked his tongue and winked at Tibbett. "I've got a brain in this noggin."

Tibbett snorted, Crope laughed.

A beep came from Tibbett's pocket and all heads were turned to him. The dark haired P.R agent flushed slightly, his eyes glancing furtively between Fiyero and Crope. He fished out his phone and checked the screen.

"Late for something?" Crope asked, his voice was low. Unhappy.

Tibbett rotated his shoulders as if he were aching. "Yeah… I've got, uhm, I've got an appointment."

"Doctor's? You sick?" Fiyero probed.

Tibbett simply ran a hand through his neatly slicked back hair, a nervous tick. "Not a doctor. Not… I've got that meeting. The one with Tenmeadews."

"For the Meadows Square Gardens project? Why wasn't I let in on that?" Crope furrowed his brows. He began fishing for his phone to check.

"It's for the, uh, Theatre Lane project."

"Oh?"

Crope seemed unconvinced, but said nothing else. Fiyero simply watched his friends curiously. Tibbett quickly gave a wave as he stepped out of the office. The two men who were left behind looked at each other, both releasing breaths that they did not know that they were holding.

Fiyero cleared his throat, sitting on the edge of his chair. "Is everything okay, Crope?"

His friend made a noise from the back of his throat, as if it was supposed to have passed as a dismissive laugh. The blond man pressed his lips together tightly, the stress was shown clearly on his features now. He looked almost a decade older.

"It's true, isn't it?" He finally managed to say. He exhaled deeply, an action meant to help stabilize his nerves, "He's cheating."

"What?"

"He's cheating. It's so obvious now." He hid his face in his hands, muffling his voice. "These couple of months… It's almost as if he's afraid to even touch me. It was guilt, wasn't it?"

Crope was breathing heavily, his shoulders sagging. Fiyero rushed over to his friend, going down on one knee to come face to face with him. "Hey, hey. You don't know that. What's going on?"

"He's always up at odd hours of the night. He thinks I don't notice when he gets up, but we've been sleeping in the same bed for the last 8 years." Crope groaned, taking a second to look up at Fiyero, "I hear the phone calls, Yero."

"You heard him talking…?"

"It's muffled – I don't know. Sometimes, I don't want to know."

Fiyero sighed, unsure of what he should say. He enclosed Crope in a tight hug, feeling his friend's body shake as he tried to force back his emotions. Fiyero didn't know where he stood with this. He was sure that Tibbett would never do such a thing to Crope – they were the tightest team he's ever seen.

Their relationship was the bar which Fiyero set for all relationships he ever had. With his own parent's strained and aloof marriage, and his own personal nightmare which was Sarima, Tibbett and Crope were the only relationship that was worth anything – he believed.

Baldr and Navii's marriage was nothing but a union of convenience, and while Fiyero got along with his sister-in-law, he believed that neither his brother nor his brother's wife had actually known true love and passion.

Tibbett and Crope were the real deal.

"I couldn't tell, y'know." Fiyero hugged tighter, "You were joking and high-fiving and everything."

"…I've gotten very good at pretending to be okay." He croaked. Crope stopped shaking, and gently nudged Fiyero away. "I'm fine. I'm good now."

"We'll get to the bottom of this, alright?"

"… I'll deal with it."

Fiyero stepped back to his desk, leaning on the edge as he folded his arms, "Are you sure? I know a guy."

Crope managed a laugh, although it was clearly forced, "Of course you do." He rubbed his thumbs together, his head bowed, "I need some time to figure out what I want to do. I love him. So much."

"I get that. And I love him too. I've only ever known the two of you together."

Crope glanced at Fiyero and a small, desperate smile crossed his handsome features.

"… We'll figure this out."

* * *

It was a strange few days for Fiyero.

The fiasco with Tibbett had been shut down by Crope, who insisted on dealing with it on his own. And it didn't help that Tibbett seemed to have drifted away from Fiyero as well. He was becoming erratic, and occasionally irritable and withdrawn. A shadow of the cheerful, snarky man he used to be. The darkness under his eyes were showing up clearly recently, and the only response he had to inquiries about that was that he hadn't been able to sleep well.

Crope hadn't been doing too well either, since that day.

The tension had put a damper on Fiyero's mood, which in turn, made thinking about his date with Elphaba Thropp very difficult.

He poured himself a glass of wine, something that he allowed himself once a day – not that his doctor knew about it – and sat on his couch in the living area. He's come to realize that his usual routine of bring his dates on carriage rides in the park, dress shopping at Everton's department store, and fancy dinners at Sollozzo'sbar and restaurant, was _not_ going to work with this particular woman.

He couldn't even bring himself to call her a girl – she was sometimes a little childish, but too often had he noticed the acumen, her wisdom beyond her years. Sharing an office right across from hers had given him too many opportunities to observe Miss Elphaba.

He would have to admit, she was unlike any other. Her complicated skin _condition_ aside, he understood that she was quite a force to behold. At that Founder's Day gala, when she had gone up on stage to make her speech, Fiyero had been amidst the crowd with Glinda by his side, watching, just like everyone around him.

He knew that the words were not her own, he could tell by the tiniest raised brow as she skimmed the tablet that the crew handed to her as she stepped up. But when she spoke, he didn't care if she was reading them the instructions to baking a banana cake.

It made him feel something.

There was an electric feeling, the way she carried herself. Her eyes, so bright and hazel, scanned over the crowd as if she were looking and addressing it to each person individually. Her voice, so sure and enchanting. She might not have even known it, but everyone was… seduced.

For 5 minutes, when she was on that stage and speaking to them, nobody cared that she was green. Nobody cared that they might think she was ugly or obtrusive.

She was Elphaba Thropp.

And they were listening.

Fiyero shuddered at the memory, and took a large gulp of his wine. This was a dangerous train of thought to be going under. The last thing he needed was to start _liking_ Elphaba more than he had to. He's got enough friends. He had Crope and Tibbett. The only deal he had with Elphaba was to make nice.

He had only needed to raise their relationship level to being tolerable acquaintances, which in itself was already a legendary feat. And now the question was, how exactly was he going to approach this? He had taken all responsibilities of planning this thing and he's regretting the decision considerably right now. He knew absolutely nothing about Elphaba.

He thought about the kind of woman she was. Smart – definitely. Introverted – yes. Enjoys tea? – He wasn't so sure about that. He's observed her brewing tea all the time in the office across the street from his, but that might just be a convenience thing.

 _Oh this is good!_

Something clicked in his head.

What else had he observed from her? They had been sharing these awkward, accidental eye contacts when they were working in their offices. More often now, since they had taken that plane ride back from Munchkinland. It was as if their eyes were drawn to the other across the street.

Well.

She chewed on her pen when she concentrated. Even styluses. And she wore a lot of black. Not even grey. She went for the darkest possible shade they had.

Sometimes, when the sun begins to set in the evening, she would stand by the window and watch the golden orb descend beyond the skyscrapers.

She looks most peaceful then.

Not that he really noticed that, of course. It was just an assumption. Fiyero cleared his throat and sipped, again, from his wine glass. That was an unhelpful segue.

He unlocked his phone and began scrolling through his conversations with Glinda, hoping to find any mentions of Elphaba. After encountering a few records of booty calls and sexting, he found a chunk of texts where Glinda was telling him about finding Elphaba awake at 4am, reading a book by the window in their living area while it was raining out.

So she's a bookworm.

Of course she was. She was reading while on the flight from Munchkinland too. Although, 4am on a rainy night? She must really be into that.

Maybe he should take her to the library.

Fiyero wanted to slap himself silly for that thought. _Library_? How desperate was he to bring a date to the library? A fancy bookstore, maybe, but a _library_?

He spent the next few hours planning and researching on the internet. Places to go and things to see. It had been a very long time since he had been so wrapped up in planning a date, much less a fake date.

He hadn't noticed the grin on his own face until nearly 1am and his face was so sore from all that smiling. He did it though.

He planned the perfect date for Elphaba Thropp.

* * *

A week came and went.

Fiyero was walking from the Old-Hen café, back to his office. The autumn turned the leaves into a beautiful shade of yellow and orange, speckling the ground with colour. The scent of spice and a hint of winter was the only thing wafting through the air. Aside for car exhaust of course. It was the city after all.

Glinda had informed him that she was planning a thing for Elphaba's birthday next week. Strictly family and friends only. Apparently, she had arranged for Elphaba's younger sister to fly down to the city to surprise her.

It seemed like it was an entire week of learning something new about this Elphaba Thropp. A sibling. He never would've thunk. They didn't even show up for the Founder's Day gala, and to the extent of his knowledge, Thropp Co. _is_ a family business.

A younger sister, he mused.

He reached his building and nodded to the security guard stationed by the door. Carl, his name was. A good guy. A little dense, but sturdy and dependable. He stepped into the elevator, together with 3 other people, and pressed on his floor.

"Lovely day today," a man in a grey suit said quietly to the lady next to him. She was a mousy little thing, dressed nicely in a floral sleeveless and a pencil skirt.

"It really is." She replied politely. "Have you gotten your costume for the party?"

"I did. Last weekend, actually." He smiled. "I won't reveal too much but it's pretty _amazing_."

"Spiderman?" The third man in the elevator raised a brow, joining the conversation.

The man in the grey suit paused, and glared at the third man. Fiyero could hear the girl struggling to contain her giggling. The elevator stopped on the 10th floor and Crope stepped in, startled at first, on seeing Fiyero.

"Yero! I was just on my way up to see you." He greeted, patting Fiyero on the back.

He could practically feel the three other employees in the elevator stiffening upon realizing that they had been sharing the space with a Tiggular, who was essentially their boss.

"What's up?" Fiyero asked, grinning, and amused.

Crope raised at brow, confused. But he quickly shook it off, "Later." He motioned subtly at the others, "In your office."

They were quiet for a bit, making everyone in the elevator awkward. Fiyero nudged Crope. "You've got anything to wear for the Halloween party?"

* * *

Crope Buchanan was born in the Emerald City.

He was then raised in Settica, Gillikin. In all, he was to be your average, pale skinned, blond haired, gillikinese boy. He excelled in sports and language, and he especially enjoyed cultural studies. In fact, it was what he majored in in college.

It was in college where he reconnected with a childhood friend, Tibbett Ezra. They were best friends when they were in middle school. Inseparable, really. Thing changed when Tibbett's family moved back to Filaan for a spell.

They talked often on the instant messengers online, but high school was high school, and Crope met many different people who were there, physically, with him. And it was the same for Tibbett.

It was only when they saw each other again on the first day of orientation that they fell back into the same camaraderie. One thing led to another, and they had been together since. Not too long after, they adopted Fiyero into their little family and the rest, they say, was history.

But of course, nothing in the world that was worth anything, came without its struggles.

They haven't had many major fights that threatened their relationship in the last 8 years. At least, not until now. Tibbett had never openly expressed anything. Not his true feelings, not anything. He hid everything behind a smirk or a sarcastic remark.

Crope had known that. And his understanding and patience with him was something that Tibbett had always appreciated from him. At least that was what he believed. Nothing seemed right anymore.

Had Tibbett met someone else? Someone who could coax his worries from him without irritating or angering him? Did Tibbett truly love him at all? Because if he did, would he have willingly put someone he loved through this emotional hell?

Crope did not know what was real anymore.

So it was when Fiyero closed the door behind him, Crope let himself break down. He didn't care that the Thropp Co. CEO could very easily glance over her computer and see him sobbing his eyes out.

It was too much. All this wondering and hurting and loving. It was too much.

He could tell that Fiyero had no idea what to do with himself right now. He's got a grown man weeping like a mother who just lost her child, just slobbering and wiping his tears with his sleeves.

Fiyero knelt on the floor in front of him, his hands on the armrests, "Crope. What happened? Did you find something?"

The blond man sniffled, and cleared his throat. He straightened himself, "I went through the bills this week. Receipts, from drug stores out of town. Dodgy places, I went out to see last weekend. He was up every night, when he thought I was asleep. Sometimes he would head out in his pjs and come back after an hour."

"Hold up." Fiyero crushed his brows together, his face stern, "Drug stores? What has he been taking?"

"I don't know. I couldn't ask the cashier. When I arrived at that place, I just couldn't. The types of people who hang around, God fucken' damn it, Fiyero. I don't know him anymore." Crope spat through gritted teeth. The grief was consuming.

"He might not be cheating though. Sounds like Tibby might be in a bad place. But you don't know that he cheated."

"I don't know which is worse!" Crope hid his face in his hands, "That he's hiding it from me or that after 8 years of being partners, he still doesn't trust me enough to let me know what he'd thinking."

Fiyero was quiet, and Crope was sorry that he had put his friend in such an awkward position. This was his problem to deal with, and his burden to bear. He didn't have the right to just pour all this on him. And it was a work day, for Lurline's sake. They were at work, and he's just sitting here, crying like a giant baby.

"I've wasted enough of your time, Yero. Thanks for listening."

"No, no. You're not going back to your office looking like that." Fiyero frowned deeply.

Crope managed a laugh, "I'll clean myself up, don't worry. Megan's gonna start asking questions if I don't head back soon."

Fiyero shook his head and stepped towards his desk, grabbing his office phone, "You're going home, Crope. Get some sleep. Rest. You're in no shape."

"I can't let it affect my work."

"It's affecting your _everything_." Fiyero stared him down sternly, "I'm your friend, first and foremost."

Crope couldn't bring himself to say anything, so he simply reached over and engulfed Fiyero in a tight hug. There were no words.

The vinkun was stunned at first, but quickly recovered, and hugged him back. "Go home. Eat something, watch some tv. If you can't stand to be home, head down to my place. You've got the emergency keys."

Crope stepped back, eyes wide. "I can't possibly—"

"—you would've done the same for me. Pack a bag. Go to my place. Stay as long as you need. I'll come home right away after work, say 7pm. I'll bring back some dinner, Munchkindlander food probably. We'll talk."

"I don't know what to say." Crope wiped at a tear with his sleeve again. Happy tears. Not sad ones.

"Go away now. I don't want to see you in this office." Fiyero chided gently, and swatted at Crope to leave. He picked up the phone and began making some calls.

* * *

As the CEO of the region's largest and most influential company, Elphaba Thropp lived relatively humbly.

Sure, her apartment was in one of the more expensive neighbourhoods, and the building was secured with guard rotations and passcodes at the door, but Elphaba rarely indulged.

There were no fancy paintings or velvet cushions in her apartment. All the furniture that she owned had actually come with the apartment itself. Technically, the building was owned by the company. Elphaba cared very little about that side of the business.

The one thing that kept her happy was the fact that she had the entire floor to herself. There were no other apartments on her level and it gave her the utmost amount of privacy. To be honest, she thoroughly enjoyed her situation in life. If not for the fact that she – for some strange reason – often found herself drifting over to Glinda's, she wouldn't have minded staying here forever.

Her place was done up classily. Wooden panels for the walls, and smooth wooden floors laid beneath her feet. It was almost like living in a modernized cabin. There was a small water fixture on the wall when one entered the apartment, but again, Elphaba cared very little about it. The sound often made her want to pee.

Tonight, Elphaba found herself in her living area, sitting on her couch and reading a textbook on topography. There was no reason for her to study that, but it was something she had always thought was interesting. Might as well take the time to read up on it.

Her walls were mounted with shelves upon shelves of books, from serious documents to fluff novels. Elphaba was determined to fill the entire place with books – her one true love. She couldn't remember when or how the affair had begun, but she regretted nothing.

And it was now, as she considered her love for knowledge and study, Elphaba received a text. She grumbled, shutting the book and laying it beside her. The device vibrated three times before she picked up her phone, and the first thing she noticed was the string of numbers that preceded the text.

"Who on earth…?"

There was a moment of instant regret when she opened up the message and realized who it was.

 _Received 10.15pm  
FiyeroT: _It's Fiyero!

 _Received 10.15pm  
FiyeroT: _I know what ur thinking. Howd I get ur number

 _Received 10.15pm  
FiyeroT: _I asked Glinda

Elphaba had half a mind to simply text him a cactus and move on with her life, but she was suddenly reminded of why he might even be texting her in the first place.

They were supposed to meet up for a date – to be fair, it wasn't a real date. It's for 'friendship'. She cringed. Even thinking it made her feel like an idiot. But it was for the greater good – the greater good being Glinda Upland.

Play nice, her mind told her. Send him a picture of a turd, her heart told her.

 _Sent 10.17pm  
ElphabaT: _What do you want from me?

 _Sent 10.17pm  
ElphabaT: _And text properly. Your text etiquette is atrocious.

 _Received 10.18pm  
FiyeroT: _lol no

 _Sent 10.19pm  
ElphabaT: _Goodbye.

 _Received 10.19pm  
FiyeroT: _Wait! Cum back

 _Sent 10.20pm  
ElphabaT: _Cum? Really?

 _Received 10.20pm  
FiyeroT: _I hate you

 _Sent 10.21pm  
ElphabaT: _Goodbye.

 _Received 10.27pm  
FiyeroT: _This coming Saturday, Genoa Square Ave 3 – Red Quox Café 12pm.  
Casual outfits, I'm paying for everything. Don't argue. It makes me feel better.

 _Received 10.28pm  
FiyeroT: _That took forever to type out.

 _Received 10.28pm  
FiyeroT: _Goodnight, Miss Elphaba.

* * *

 **A/N** I'm really appreciating the reviews :) Throwing this chapter out here a little early.  
Tibbett is certainly up to something, and Boq and Milla have begun a relationship that might get them both in trouble. Something else is brewing in the background, while Fiyero prepares himself for a date with Elphaba ;)

We'll see how Fiyero's perfectly planned date might fall into place - or fall completely apart. Who knows!


	12. Chapter 12

**12.**

"What am I looking at?"

"Don't look so cross – it's pretty cool, isn't it? Look at that!"

Elphaba didn't look convinced. In fact, she was furrowing her brows and eyeing her drink confusedly. Fiyero wasn't sure why she was so afraid of fluffy pink things. He'd thought that after being friends with Glinda for so long, she would've gotten used to it.

It was today – the long awaited friend-date with Elphaba Thropp. Fiyero had arrived at the café 10 minutes early, a legendary feat. He wasn't quite sure why he was putting so much into this but his body seemed to move of its own accord – waking up early to prepare, double checking his reservations, taking a cab down to the café and asking the driver to step on it…

"I asked for an Americano." She said blankly.

Fiyero pulled his most charming smile, "I thought you needed something sweeter in your life and got the coffee girl to switch it out for you."

"Why is it _pink_?"

"It's strawberry! Everyone likes strawberry."

"And the fluff?"

"Cotton candy. Pretty awesome, right?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. She was seated across from Fiyero, dressed nicely in a black, faux-leather jacket, tight jeans, and stylish boots. It was a surprising display of fashion smarts, although, Glinda had mentioned before that she threw out all of Elphaba's clothes in college and bought her entirely new ones – in a sense, Glinda was the one who dressed Elphaba today.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Elphaba looked put off – although, if Fiyero squinted, she might've actually been blushing.

Cute.

"I like what you're wearing. Very chic." He complimented, and quickly took a sip from his own cup of spiced mocha. He wasn't sure why, but he felt almost awkward saying that to her. It was like middle school all over again.

"Glinda bought them. I wouldn't know."

Bingo.

"So what's your grand plan for today? I'm hoping to finish this by 4pm." She said dryly, sounding completely disinterested. Although, Fiyero could tell that it was a façade. He was gifted at reading people that way. He knew when people were real, or when they were just trying to manipulate him into doing something for them.

Ultimately though, he still wasn't quite sure about Elphaba. She seemed to be hiding something, and he wanted to know what.

"What's going on at 4pm?" He asked politely, pretending to be hurt by her lack of interest. "I've had everything all planned out, y'know."

She looked slightly uncomfortable at the question and glanced away in an attempt to hide her eyes. Fiyero noticed her lips moving, but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

"I'm sorry?" He leaned in.

Elphaba looked up at him with a strange expression on her face. She scratched at a spot on her cheek, trying to deflect the attention on her awkwardness. "Bookstore closes at 5." She finally managed to mumble.

At this, Fiyero wasn't sure how he should react. On the surface, he wanted to burst out laughing. On the inside, however, he'd almost, _almost,_ thought that she was pretty adorable. The green, raging she-hulk image of her that he had stowed away in his mind was slowly transforming into an awkward green person, sitting by the windows and reading a book.

He wasn't sure what had come over him when he said, "Let's go then."

"What?" She looked bewildered, and just a little bit distrustful. "I thought you said that you had today all planned out?"

"The whole point of today was to get to know each other better and we might hate each other less. I think this scores some points for 'friendship', right?"

Something in his brain must've been re-wired in his sleep or something – in the back of his mind, he knew that this wasn't quite himself. If this had been anyone else, he would've been quite pissed that they would openly admit that they would rather been somewhere else than here with him, even after he'd planned the entire day for them.

And even as he said that, Fiyero was standing up from his seat picking up his coffee – good thing he had them in to-go cups. He looked at her as he took a sip from his coffee, trying to hide the tiny smile that was playing on his lips, one that he tried to force back, though to no avail. It was interesting watching the expressions pass through Elphaba's face – and he noticed, belatedly, that he'd no longer registered that she was green.

"… Thank you."

He was surprised. The sound of her voice, suddenly small, reached his ears but only barely. He raised a brow and observed that she was pressing her lips together tightly, as if she were resisting a smile, perhaps. At this, he couldn't help the colouring of his cheeks as he gestured at her to lead the way.

Something told him that today wouldn't be an ordinary day.

* * *

It was an experience, walking down the street with Elphaba Thropp.

Both Glinda and Boq must've felt the same way that he was feeling now, way back when they first became acquainted with her. Fiyero had always had people do a double take as he walked past them, or have women bat their lashes at him when they made eye contact. But this was a whole other level of attention. A different kind of attention as well.

They were an odd couple, to be sure. A tall, handsome man – traditionally so, and an almost equally tall, _green_ woman. It wasn't something that people saw every day. Most people would not recognize Fiyero, he was nobody important after all. But Elphaba, well, she was the only green person known in recorded history, _and_ she's the CEO of one of the driving forces of the Ozian economy.

People openly stared, and gaped, and pointed. It made Fiyero uncomfortable. Next to him, Elphaba seemed completely disinterested and her eyes were focussed on the path in front of her. Fiyero couldn't help looking around as he walked, however, and everywhere he turned, people were staring.

"It's the green lady," he heard a passer-by stage whispering to his friend.

"Why is that man walking so close to her?" Another whisper travelled to his ears.

"Are they friends? What's going on there?"

He'd forgotten that this was a different part of the city, where people weren't so used to seeing Elphaba walking down the streets. Finally, the last straw came when he heard a homeless man holler at Elphaba. "It's her! The green freak! She's back to spread her disease!"

What on earth was that!

Fiyero clenched his fists and was ready to yell right back at the man when Elphaba stepped in front of him, she held him back with a hand touching his chest, and called at the homeless man, "Get a job, Fred."

And they were on their way again.

"Fred?" Fiyero repeated incredulously. His entire face still felt hot with anger. He's never seen people behave like this before – to openly gape at another person as if they were some kind of zoo animal. To yell and holler at them in public because they disapproved of the colour of their skin.

He had known racism, being vinkun, but this was seriously something else.

"He used to work at Thropp Co. in accounting, when my great-grandfather was around. Always had a problem with anyone who weren't pale skinned or average sized." Elphaba shrugged. "When I took over, he was removed. Caused too much trouble."

"He had problems with _munchkins_?" Fiyero rose a brow. It was no secret that people looked down on the munchkins – literally and figuratively – but it was such an old and backwater prejudice that anyone who expressed it were openly mocked and shunned.

And the matter with pale skins had only started when vinkuns became more prominent members of Ozian society. It was something Fiyero, himself, had to deal with as well.

"He's not important." She said with finality, returning her attention to the path. She pulled her jacket tighter against her body and trotted on along, forcing Fiyero to pick up his pace.

He looked at her – really looked – and found that the two of them might have shared more similarities than he liked to admit.

* * *

They paused in front of a weathered, red-bricked building. It was a more compact sort of establishment, and fairly tucked away. If a person did not know of the place beforehand, he wouldn't have managed to find it without some directions. There was no signs in sight, only a dingy looking shop front with dusty, grey, windows and a chalkboard that said 'Books'.

Elphaba led them in, pushing the door open and revelling in the sight. She took a deep breath and smiled, abandoning Fiyero as soon as the door closed behind them.

The vinkun observed the world around him with wide, green eyes.

There was a small bell attached to the edge of the door, ringing every time someone opened the door. It startled him initially, because of how secluded and quiet it was in here. He took a tentative step towards the counter, adorned with stacks upon stacks of books that Fiyero had never seen before, and peeked behind.

Nobody seemed to be manning the shop.

"Elphaba. Are you sure this place is open?" He called out uncomfortably. He regretted the loudness of his voice instantly, and half expected a wily old lady to pop out from behind the counter, shushing him.

Elphaba peeked from behind one of the gigantic bookcases, looking at him strangely. She seemed to soften, however, at how distressed Fiyero must've looked. He was still standing by the entrance when she walked over to him and grabbed him by the sleeve of his grey coat, leading him behind the shelves.

It was almost as if he'd been teleported into an alien planet as he took in the sight before him.

"This is a lot of books." He muttered, mostly to himself. There were books everywhere – numerous stacks on the floor, rising all the way up to his waist. Each shelf was packed tightly with books of different colours, thickness and genres. He looked at one of the shelves more closely and noted that an ancient copy of 'Frankenstein' was jammed between a copy of 'Insights into Transmutations' and 'Baby care 101'.

Fiyero watched his date with growing curiosity. Her eyes were scanning across the shelves, bright and alive. He usually only saw this kind of illumination when she was pissed off at him. He stood a little to the side, behind Elphaba, observing her quietly.

It might've been the warm lighting in the room, but it seemed to soften the hard edges that he had usually associated with Elphaba. Her hair, raven black and braided, fell right on the small of her back. Her body was narrow and tall – very much unlike Glinda's pleasant curves – but it was growing on him. It simply _suited_ her.

Her head was bowed as she picked out a thick volume from the shelf and began reading. There was something beguiling about the way she looked as she concentrated on her book, completely ignoring him and his brazen staring.

Fiyero closed his eyes as he rubbed his thumb and knuckle on the bridge of his nose, internalizing a groan. He knew very well what was happening right now – it was the same thing that happened when he'd first met Sarima. He needed to be very, _very_ careful with his growing fascination with Elphaba.

He watched her as she picked out the books that she wanted and flipped through them slowly. Ever so often, she would scoff and slide the books back into the slot she had previously released them from. Fiyero joined her in her perusing, scanning the spines of the books as if he knew what he was doing, and picking out books that had funny titles.

Occasionally, he would find himself glancing over to Elphaba instead of reading his own book. She didn't seem to notice, however, and a smile began to take hold on her lips – one that he had never seen on her before. It was a lopsided smile, very effortless and very pretty. He had soon understood that it was a smile that she reserved for when she was amongst her most favourite thing – books.

He continued his observations, allowing time to slip by unknowingly. It was only later that he realized that they had been wandering around the bookstore for almost 3 hours.

"Are you bored?" She glanced at him suddenly.

He was startled, and his cheeks burned red at being caught staring. She was looking at him with a small frown, and it took him a while to realize that she was actually feeling guilty.

"I'm not," he replied honestly, "I was just observing a wild Elphaba in her natural habitat." He smiled softly. It wasn't flirting. It was just friendly conversation and friendly smiles.

Elphaba snorted, but it was easy for him to notice the darkening of her cheeks, as if she were blushing. Against his will, his smile grew wider and his chest felt warmer.

 _It's nothing. Stop being weird about it._

"I don't read much." He admitted. He wasn't sure why he felt the urge to do that, but it seemed like something that was appropriate to tell her. "This is the first time I've spent so much time looking through all these books."

Elphaba tilted her head, her eyes scanning over his book and a curious smile came over her face, " _The Ultimate Guide to Puns_?"

Fiyero laughed genuinely.

There was a moment of silence between them which was broken when Elphaba sighed and looked at him, shutting her book and turning towards him. "I suppose that you've indulged me long enough… And as much as I hate to admit it, you've been nothing but a…" She trailed off, unwilling to finish that sentence.

Fiyero pulled a smirk, folding his arms across his chest, "A gentleman? Was that what you were about to say?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he chuckled.

"Your words, not mine. I've said nothing." She replied and turned away from him, shoving the book back into the empty slot in the shelf. "But since you've shown that you were willing to accommodate to me, I'll do the same for you." She turned back to face him, folding her own arms across her chest, mirroring Fiyero, "So, where shall we go next?"

* * *

Fiyero Tiggular was a strange specimen.

Elphaba had been so sure that she would've hated everything that he had planned for today, and she was even more sure that she wouldn't have even lasted this long without feeling like tossing him into a ravine, but here they were, walking down the street side by side, being amiable and not trying to kill each other.

She had been sure that he would've hated her, and was half expecting him to get so bored out of his mind that he would abandon her right there at the café where he'd met up with her earlier today. Instead, he really seemed to be trying. There was an enthusiasm about him that frustrated her, but at the same time, enthralled her. If she wasn't careful, she might become a little too wrapped up in whatever Fiyero was trying to do.

They had walked out to the street, waiting for a cab to drive by. He was leaning against a mailbox while she stood a little bit away from him, looking at everything around her – anything to avoid making eye contact with him.

"You're being weird." He said finally, scratching along his jaw, looking at her with what seemed like bemusement in his eyes.

"No I'm not."

He leaned in, "Yes you are. You're being weird. Don't you want to know where I'm bringing you? You're being awfully compliant."

"You say it as if it's a bad thing." She looked at him curiously, slightly annoyed and also a tiny bit flustered. He tilted his head as if he was trying to figure her out, and after a little while, seemed to give up. She shrugged, "I told you. You've been surprisingly _nice_ about our bookstore escapade, so now I'm simply returning the favour."

"…I'll let you have this one." He said after a beat, right as he waved his arm out and hailed a cab. She wasn't quite sure how to react when he held the door open for her and beckoned at her to go in. He slipped in right next to her, sitting a little too closely before he shifted away.

"Kellsview Place." He instructed the cab driver, who simply nodded.

"Kellsview Place?" She looked at him in confusion.

Fiyero pulled another one of his irritating smirks. "Have you been? It's pretty amazing."

"It's that new Arjiki hotel, isn't it?"

"The very one. Designed by some famous Quadling architect. I can't quite remember his name." He took out his phone and tapped on the gallery icon, showing her pictures of the building in its conceptual stages. "We've got the usual bars, spas and restaurants… I'm bringing you to the roof though."

"The roof?"

"You'll see."

He flashed her a mysterious smile, one that she did not like at all. Elphaba wasn't used to not knowing what she was getting herself into. In fact, today was causing nothing but anxiety for her.

It wasn't often that she would find herself relaxing so completely when she knew that she had company, and it was exactly what happened just now. She had sensed his presence next to her, of course, as she perused the many shelves of books while they were at the store, but it was this gradual relaxation of her body around him that alarmed her, several minutes after they had left the store.

She wasn't sure how she should feel about her body's reaction to him. It had been such a long time since she had been able to feel so completely relaxed with another person next to her – and it was this otherworldly concept that Fiyero might be one of two people in this world of whom she could possibly be comfortable around… it's a nightmare scenario just waiting to play out in the near future.

The cab ride to the hotel was surprisingly fast, and Elphaba was grateful for the cab driver's efficiency – it meant that she hadn't really needed to worry about awkward cab conversations. Fiyero didn't seem to notice her discomfort though, and she was pretty okay with that. The last thing she needed right now was _concern_ from the pretty boy vinkun who was her best friend's boyfriend.

It took only 20 minutes for them to arrive at the Kellsview Place, and Fiyero was quick to pay the fare, even telling the cab driver to keep the change. He did it so quickly that Elphaba barely had time to complain about him promising that they would split the fare.

"I told you, I'll be paying for today. It's not like I'm tight on cash." Fiyero remarked as he held the door open for her.

Elphaba exhaled sharply, stepping out of the cab and allowing Fiyero to close the door behind her. "It's not like _I'm_ strapped for cash either. We're both working adults, _and it's not a real date_. We should be splitting the expenses."

Fiyero looked at her, and then turned away without saying another word. She furrowed her brows at that and had to fight to keep the look of utter disbelief from showing up on her face. There was nothing she could do, however, as he led her into the hotel lobby.

The Kellsview Place was an expensive building with an elaborate structure. Elphaba had heard about the purchase of the land beneath their feet by the Arjiki Company, but she hadn't had the time to actually learn more about the hype around the actual building. She did, however, hear many rumours about the architect who was commissioned to design the hotel, and as such, subconsciously chosen to steer clear of any news about the Kellsview.

The last thing she needed was to hear his name again.

* * *

"Tiggular. I have a reservation."

The ginger haired hostess took a hard glance, not at Fiyero, but at his green companion. Elphaba hadn't cared, of course. She had lived with it her entire life, why choose now to begin fretting over things that she could not change?

It was easy to see, however, that Fiyero had noticed – causing him to glare at the hostess. She left quickly, having caught his eye, and flustered as she conversed with her colleagues. It took only a second for the hostess to come back with a shiny tablet in her arms as she hurried to show them to their table.

"This is a restaurant?" Elphaba asked as they were seated. Their table certainly held the very best view in the entire building. The entire area around them was designed in such a way that from where they seated, it was possible to see the distant mountains of the Great Kells on one side, and the skyline of the Emerald City on the other.

Fiyero nodded absently, "I wanted to bring you the Elijah A. Phoel Memorial, after we had that coffee at Red Quox café. And then I would show you the Will Spearsman masterclass thing at Central Square."

Elphaba couldn't help the look of surprise on her face – a trip to the Elijah A. Phoel Memorial and a viewing of the Will Spearsman masterclass was definitely something that she would've been very interested in participating in. Phoel was one of the greatest poets in recorded history, and the Spearsman masterclass was nothing short of an extravaganza in the literary world.

"I told you," Fiyero smirked proudly, "I had it all thought out."

Before Elphaba could stand to reply to that, the hostess came up to them and handed them a card with illegible cursive wording. "The wines that we're recommending tonight is the _Chateau Margaux_ and the _Romanee-Conti_. Both Glikkun in origin."

"We'll take two glasses of the _Romanee_." Fiyero said. He glanced over to Elphaba, who simply shrugged. She rarely drank, and cared very little for expensive wines. All forms of alcohol tasted the same to her, and as it turns out – after a very convincing experiment that she did with Glinda back in college – it took _a lot_ to get her anywhere near a state of drunkenness.

When the hostess had left, Elphaba rose a brow at Fiyero. "You really shouldn't be drinking. Aren't you just out of rehab?"

The edge of his jaw seemed to harden at the topic of his debauched past. "It's fine. A glass of red wine a day is healthy for the soul." He replied coolly.

"Not for a recovering addict."

"I'm not an addict."

Elphaba narrowed her eyes at him, "Non-addicts don't get sent to rehabilitation centres for 2 years."

At this, Fiyero's grip on the menu tightened. There was suddenly something harsh and resentful in his eyes as he looked away from Elphaba. "Sometimes people have things that they don't like to discuss, _Miss Elphaba_."

Elphaba considered him for a little while, watching him clench his jaws as he glanced out at the skyline of the city. Perhaps she should apologize – but she didn't feel that she was in any wrong to call him out on his vices. This would be something she would have to revisit another time.

"… I've never gotten drunk before." Elphaba commented, a sort of peace offering. Fiyero looked over to her, his features softening slightly. Although it was easy to see that he was still a little ticked off.

"That can't be true." He said, a little gruffly.

"Why would I lie about such a thing?"

She had his attention now.

"Never? Not even in college?" He raised a brow, decidedly intrigued.

"Glinda and I did an experiment back in college." She noticed Fiyero perking up at the word 'experiment'. "She was convinced that I was lying to her when I told her that I've never felt the intoxicating effects of alcohol."

"What? You're joking." His eyes widened, like a little boy listening in to an incredible tale. It was endearing, really.

"Again, why on earth would I lie about such a thing?" She retorted, "In any case. One Friday night, she came back into our room with a case of assorted liquor, strictly forbidden in the dorms. It was an early evening, I was sitting in bed, reading—"

"—Of course you were." He smirked.

"Shush. Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Please go on."

"Anyway. I was reading when she came in, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. I could feel it in my bones that she was up to something." Elphaba regaled with a small smile, "She says to me, 'Elphie, dear. I'm not convinced that you can't get drunk, so I bought this off of Ruby from Chemistry this afternoon. We're going to do a little experiment.'"

At this, Fiyero grinned, thoroughly absorbed by Elphaba's story.

"She produces a mug from Oz knows where and proceeds to pour generous amounts of what I believe was whiskey and rum, and she tells me to try it out. Bravely, I sipped. A second later, I tell her that it's not doing it for me and she proceeds to add vodka into the mix. This time, I take a gulp."

"Oh, that sounds nasty." Fiyero flinched at the imagery of a whisky – rum – vodka mix.

"I drink it though – about half the mug. But I didn't feel anything. Glinda was pretty ruffled at this point and she took a generous sip just to see if she got ripped off by Ruby. From her spluttering afterwards, I was pretty sure that they were the genuine article."

Before Elphaba could continue, the hostess had arrived with their wine. She set them down gently, one in front of Fiyero, and the other in front of the green lady. "We recommend our freshly imported Filaanian cheese to accompany your wine."

"Sure." Fiyero said shortly. And then she was gone again.

"Shall I continue?" Elphaba asked, her eyes were drawn to the wine glass set in front of Fiyero. He noticed it, and although she knew that he wanted nothing but to take a sip of the expensive beverage, something seemed to be stopping him from indulging.

"Please." He said finally.

"We go through half the case, about 4 bottles of different liquors. Glinda was incoherent by the end of the night, and I found myself feeling what seemed to be _slight_ disorientation." Elphaba recounted. "I wasn't drunk though. I've seen drunk."

Fiyero laughed at that. There was something… pleasant, about the way he laughed. Surely, he's a handsome man, but it was something that Elphaba didn't want to focus on. It was the noticeable rhythm of his laughter that made her sit up and notice.

Very, very endearing.

* * *

"Now this wasn't as bad as you thought it would be, am I right?" Fiyero smiled, a tight lipped one because he was still grouchy about the whole rehab thing but a smile nonetheless. He held the cab door open for Elphaba, who in turn rolled her eyes at him.

"I suppose." She admitted reluctantly. "You didn't need to send me home. We're not on a real date."

"I'm very aware of that." He replied. It was almost annoying now, how she kept repeating that to him. Of course he knew that it wasn't a real date. Because on a real date, he would bring her to a bar, or a club. Or maybe they would see a movie. And he would find any possible excuse to hold her hand or pull her closer to him… This wasn't a real date – which was why he wouldn't walk her to her door.

Elphaba was suddenly quiet as the two of them stood in the middle of the sidewalk. The cab was waiting patiently for Fiyero to get in. He looked at her, feeling the urge to close the distance. Maybe give her a hug or something. Fiyero wasn't sure what he was supposed to do right now. If they were on a real date, he would've kissed her.

 **Not that he would of course**. Oz damn – he was with  Glinda. He couldn't possibly have forgotten about that. So instead, Fiyero reached out with a hand, awkwardly, "G-Good talk."

Elphaba's brows shot up in amusement, or perhaps confusion, and she took his hand. This was the first time that their hands had touched. The first time that their skin had come in contact with each other.

It was the first time that Fiyero could positively conclude that Elphaba's hands were indeed warm, and that her skin felt nothing like scales – as he had once believed it would feel – and it was instead, the softest skin he had never touched. Everything, he absorbed, in one instantaneous moment in time.

 _This can't happen._

He whipped his hand back as soon as the handshake was over, suddenly afraid of how his body had reacted to her touch. His mind felt jumbled as he stuttered his goodbye and quickly yanked the cab door open and slipped in.

Fiyero hadn't dared to look behind as the car turned the corner.

* * *

 **A/N** ;)  
AstridElsa99 - Fiyeraba is end game, definitely. But it's still going to be a little while before they would get together :P Thanks for sticking around!

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - I really do think that at one point Elphaba would send him a picture of a turd haha! It just feels like something that Elphie would do at this point.

nonnyb*tch - Hey! I'm glad that we found each other ;) I'm really into corporate/modern AUs and hate at first sight Fiyeraba too. It's too bad we don't get much of either in the wicked fandom. I'd read the crap out of a good modern wicked fic! I update rather erratically heh. Twice a week if we're lucky - but I tend to disappear for a week or two :P Stick around! I'd love t hear what you have to say about the story!

HC247 - Ah! It's not a funny chapter, unfortunately :( Hope you enjoyed it though. And I'm glad you guys caught the mean girls reference! Really thought nobody would understand haha!

Mother yackel - LOL. Yup. I'm definitely pushing the T/M rating boundary for this story. Hopefully the fluff from this chapter balances that :P

anon - Thanks for all the reviews! Short and sweet haha!


	13. Chapter 13

**13.**

The Thropp Co building sits nicely along one of the busiest streets in the city. Directly opposite to them is the Arjiki Tradings offices. On street level, the pavement is clean and just wide enough that most people would not accidentally bump into each other as they walked.

Obviously, there was no such thing as street parking here – a true denizen of the Emerald City either walked to where they needed to go, flagged a cab, or took the underground train. And when you were wealthy enough to own a car in the city, you wouldn't want to leave it out in the streets.

Boq earned enough money that if he wished, he could've bought a car. As Elphaba's personal assistant, he could've easily gotten a nice parking space if he wanted. Although, the thing was, the traffic in the city – especially on 34th Main Street – gets so unbelievably congested, he would've gone bankrupt paying for fuel because he would be stuck on the streets half the time.

This was the reason he gave to anyone who ever gave him grief for choosing to take the east line from his apartment in the residential districts to the city centre for work.

He didn't mind it, most of the time. Being in the tube gave him time to nap, and before he had the thing with Milla, he would always think that perhaps he might meet his special someone on one of his commutes. It was a daydream that he never outgrew. He could do without the smells on the train though – Lurline knows about the sort of characters who would take the midnight train the night before but Boq definitely did not want to know.

He stepped out of the train as it screeched to a stop, shoulders bumping into a multitude of suit wearing office drones who – like him – simply wanted to get to their desks and drink a cup of coffee. It had been 2 years since he'd left his family behind in Munchkinland to come out here to work for Elphie. Often times, he missed the great _wideness_ that was Munchkinland. Because their people were of the shorter stock, their buildings and general aesthetics tended to compensate with width.

Crowd density was near non-existent in Munchkinland.

Just last month, when he had gone home for the weekend to visit his family after a long draught, he had almost shed a tear at how wonderfully homey and munchkin-sized everything were. There was just something amazing about warm colours and the smell of freshly baked buckwheat bread that even the most expensive office spaces and slick grey office buildings couldn't compete with.

He stepped out of the underground train station and was promptly hit with the morning stench of greasy hotdogs and cigarettes… Welcome to the city.

20 minutes before he was supposed to be at his desk, Boq made a beeline towards the Old-Hen's café, right below the Thropp building. He bought a coffee for Elphie, and a mocha for himself. The barista had recognized him and he never had to say anything except to greet them and to pay them for his drinks.

He stood by the window, waiting for his order to come in, and used this few precious minutes to stare out. It was an unusually sunny morning – almost irritatingly so – and it meant that it was warm enough that it wasn't quite winter yet, but not so warm that he would be okay without having at least a second layer on.

The people walking right outside of the café seemed to think so too.

Men and women of all shapes and sizes were rushing in and out of buildings. Some were clearly _grievously_ late for something, others were just native Emerald City denizens who were used to the high pressure, fast paced lifestyle of the city.

And despite the hustle bustle of the city in the morning, it was one particular person who caught his eye. The brown, shoulder length bob. The familiar curves of her body. The sweet, sunny smile, flashing not at him but for the tall, grinning man she was walking with.

Boq hadn't heard when the barista called for his name three times.

* * *

Elphaba was suspicious.

It was no secret that her birthday was today. Being a _known_ person like her in the Emerald City meant that things like her birthplace, birthday and her entire family tree was put right up on the internet for the world to see.

Still, she did not celebrate it. She figured that it was nice to mark down the number of years it had been since she had taken her first breath but Elphaba did not see it as something to celebrate. She had never done it before – not on her own anyway – and she had only had her birthday celebrated when she met Glinda.

Since then, every year, Glinda had taken it upon herself to make sure that Elphaba's birthday included a cake and party hats. Last year, Glinda hired a man to break into her house to redecorate the place as a surprise for her. Turns out, the man was a renowned con artist and had very nearly stolen everything in her house if not for the fact that the security people at Elphaba's building did their job very, _very_ well.

They had to, since the tenants in that particular building were some very wealthy and very paranoid people.

In any case, Elphaba was suspicious, because Glinda had not missed a single year since they had become friends nearly 5 years ago. Her day in the office was very mild – some birthday wishes crudding up her emails, a cupcake from a very despondent looking Boq, and a very mysterious smile from Glinda when they caught each other while she was strutting down the 10th floor hallway to see a man about a thing.

She _did_ receive a call from her later that afternoon to wish her a happy birthday but it felt too… tame. Glinda Upland would never rest easy with only a birthday phone call. Something had to be going on. She was already in the elevator to her apartment when something hit her.

What if Glinda set up a birthday thing in her home?

Elphaba was suddenly filled with dread as the numbers on the display climbed higher and higher, creeping closer to her floor. Her phone began to ring and it startled her.

It was Glinda.

Taking a quick breath to calm herself, Elphaba answered, "Did you need something?"

"Well hello to you too." Sassy.

The elevator stopped and a _ding_ rang out as she stepped out into her red carpeted hallway.

"Hello Glinda."

"Right. Listen, I bought a new tv and got into this huge argument with the big smelly men who were supposed to lug it up to my apartment for me. Now I'm stuck in my lobby with a gigantic tv."

"And you want me, this narrow, frail looking green woman to come by and help you _lug_ it up to your apartment?" Elphaba asked bemusedly. What a birthday gift indeed.

"Lurline please, frail looking green woman." Glinda muttered impatiently into her phone, which only seemed to amuse Elphaba even more.

"Alright, fine. I'll come by and help." She replied finally, stepping up to her door and fishing for her keys. Her fingers grazed the jagged metal. "I'll just drop off my things in my apartment first."

"Bring an overnight bag!"

Her door swung open, and Elphaba had – admittedly – half expected Glinda to leap out from behind her counter by the kitchenette. There was no one, of course, just as always. Only the sound of the water fixture by the door. She ripped off her heels and tossed them aside, throwing her satchel on her couch.

"I have to get myself into a tshirt…" She grumbled to herself as she stripped off her blazer and began to work her blouse.

On most days, had she been more alert, Elphaba would've noticed. She would've noticed the way her curtains in the living room were pulled apart – not how she had left it – and she would've noticed the snickering from behind her door.

But Elphaba had not noticed – and it was because of that that she found herself startled into paralysis when she pushed open her bedroom door and found 4 uninvited guests leaping out from their hiding places and yelling, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

* * *

Just a glimpse.

It was just a glimpse of her collarbone, and the slight curves in the middle of her chest. Her fingers – thankfully – hadn't worked hard enough and she had only gotten to the third button before she realized that she wasn't alone.

They leapt out the moment the door was pushed open, not knowing what to expect – and Glinda certainly did not tell them that they might catch Elphaba undressing herself. So they yelled happy birthday, just as the lights came on.

Elphaba stood by the door, her eyes wide in complete and utter shock. Her hands were on her chest, her white blouse, half undone. The rainbow coloured party blowout between Boq's lips fell to the hardwood floor, and Nessarose had buried her face in her hands – Fiyero wasn't sure if it was in shame or in embarrassment… She might've been laughing under there but he was too stunned to pay attention.

"H-How? W-What—" She swallowed, hard.

There was an awkward beat before Glinda finally reclaimed herself and said, "H-Happy Birthday Elphie!" And this was their cue to forget what they saw and pretend that it was all alright. Boq cleared his throat and started singing a song while wheeling Nessa – who was holding the box of cupcakes – towards Elphaba.

The birthday girl, too, snapped out of her stupor and frantically buttoned her blouse. Fiyero felt a pang in his chest when he saw that her collarbones were hidden away again – he caught himself before the thoughts could go anywhere. It was a natural bodily response. He just happened to be quite easily stirred by a woman's clavicles.

 _Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it._

Things haven't been quite the same since the two of them had that friend-date together. Fiyero had, on multiple occasions, found himself thinking about Elphaba. Nothing gross, of course. It was just that her name seemed to pop up in his head more often than he liked. It didn't help that whenever he so much as swivelled in his chair to stretch his legs, he would unknowingly glance over to her office and notice that she was nibbling on a poptart while working on her desk.

He hadn't told Glinda about their little escapade either. It wasn't like he was cheating – he wasn't. It was just that he didn't want her to overthink it. He didn't think Elphaba told her either, although her motivations for not bringing the non-date up eluded him.

"Nessa, you flew all the way here for this?" Elphaba asked, her face had a myriad of emotions running through it.

The younger Thropp, of whom Fiyero had only met 2 hours ago, pulled her pretty lips into a curious smirk, "Anything to see that look on your face, Fabala."

At this, Elphaba rolled her eyes – her smile afterwards showed that she had appreciated her sister's quip. Fiyero stepped behind, allowing Boq and Glinda to have their time with the birthday girl.

He glanced over to Nessarose, observing her. Her hair was a deep chocolate brown, very much unlike Elphaba's raven black. Her eyes had the same brown shade – a warmer colour than that of Elphaba's startling bright hazel. She was lean, with an oval face shape and very delicate features – again, unlike Elphaba's sharp and pronounced cheekbones and jawline. If they didn't have the same last name, nobody would've thought that they might've been related.

And yet, here they were.

Elphaba seemed to sense something in Fiyero's direction, and her eyes flicked over to his. In the briefest of moments, something unsaid went over between them. Quickly she turned away, choosing to focus on the others.

Nessa held out a wrapped present and presented it her sister, "From dad and I."

It was a small box, barely the size of an apple, and wrapped in a very generic decorating paper. A small, purple, stick-on ribbon adorned the top of the box. Fiyero thought that it didn't seem like much, especially when it came from her father and sister – his last birthday gift had been a limited edition sports car from Baldr and an apartment in Ev from his parents.

Elphaba's eyes were wide and her cheeks, coloured. Something told Fiyero that her family must not have been the gift giving – or the celebratory sort. "Should I open it?" She asked gingerly, and Nessa nodded.

Elphaba took care to slowly find the edge of the wrapping paper and pulled it apart gently. A nondescript box was revealed. As she moved to open the box, Fiyero had almost thought that she might've been holding her breath as she did.

"… It's beautiful." She said in a small voice. The box pulled open to reveal a very pretty green crystal. It was set in an obsidian base, and the crystal seemed to grow organically upwards into a very elaborate shape. There seemed to be a light in the centre of the crystal.

Fiyero had to take back what he'd said about Elphaba's family. They might've seemed uncaring on the outside, but they certainly came through when it mattered.

"Something from the Quadling Country, from back when we used to live there for a while." Nessa explained.

Elphaba nodded, her eyes still transfixed with the glowing crystal. "I remember… You were still a baby then. This is just like the crystals growing from the Ruby marshes."

"The mayor had them made into these tokens and gifted them to father." Nessa said, her voice seemed to carry a more mature tone than Fiyero had expected, especially from someone so young.

"I… Thank you."

Elphaba was smiling. The room was quiet for a while. Boq looked pensive, as if he had other things on his mind. Glinda looked like she was about to cry. Fiyero, of all people, felt… light. He couldn't stop staring at her. Her shy smile, her naivety beneath the severe exterior…

 _This. Can't. Happen._

"Open mine next! Well, actually _ours_. Fiyero chipped in too." Glinda grinned as she slid her box to Elphaba, and at the sound of his girlfriend's voice, Fiyero forced himself to smile.

* * *

The evening spilled out into Elphaba's living room.

Glinda and Boq had arranged for the ' _Le Gorge_ ' munchkinlander restaurant to deliver a simple 3 course meal at 8pm. Nessarose seemed pleased at the choice in restaurant and commented that no other cuisine is quite like a traditional munchkinlander buckwheat linguine dish.

Because Elphaba lacked a dining table, Glinda arranged for the caterers to set up a make-shift table by the space between Elphaba's kitchenette and living area. Elphaba had watched in horror as her apartment was rearranged to accommodate to her surprise birthday dinner.

She sat at the head of the table. Glinda sat to her left, and then Fiyero next to Glinda. Nessa was to her left and Boq next to her. The food was laid out nicely in front of them, and even Elphaba had to admit that she rather enjoyed the idea of just having a nice dinner with her closest friends.

Boq chatted amiably with Nessarose – both being native munchkinlanders. He had never met Nessa until today, despite being friends with Elphaba for years. He heard of her, through her elder sister, but he hadn't known what to expect.

She was very pretty, and if dressed up, possibly very beautiful. Nessa looked nothing like Elphaba, and Boq had truly meant no harm in that observation. Nessarose was delicate, while Elphie had sharper features – and he had always thought that even though Elphie was cursed with her green skin, she wasn't really _absolutely_ difficult to look at.

They started on the dinner.

Boq glanced over to Nessa, asking about the her life and what she might be doing. She shrugged, "I finished my degree in religious studies in the University of Wend Hardings about a year ago. I'm now currently doing my graduate studies at the Saint Hovur University."

"Graduate studies? You never mentioned." Elphaba stopped her chewing midway and stared blankly at Nessa. Boq shifted uncomfortably, not knowing if he had just poked on a sore topic for the Thropps.

Nessa cut a small piece of her calzone with her fork, and concentrated on it as if it was the most important thing in the world. "I was going to tell you… It's not like it matters anyway."

"Saint Hovur's! That's a great school. Gordy from my department was from Saint Hovur's." Glinda intercepted helpfully. Her eyes were narrowing on Elphaba, who didn't seem to notice. "Sully from Arjiki was from Saint Hovur's too, wasn't he?" She nudged Fiyero discretely. "Remind me, dear, what does Sully do?"

"O-Oh, uh. Sully? The balding…? Right right. Sully." Fiyero spluttered, and took a sip from his glass of water, "He's one of our top media guys. Saint Hovur's. That's a good school."

Nessa raised a brow at Glinda and Fiyero, and Boq wondered if she was just trying to resist rolling her eyes at them. She seemed the type. Elphaba, on the other hand, simply ignored them.

"You're not going to join the convent?" Elphaba sounded hopeful.

"I never said that I was going to do that." Nessa replied, her eyes finally meeting her sister's. "Let's not talk about this any longer. Our food is getting cold."

Awkwardly, Nessa scooped a bowlful of soup and began sipping gingerly. Boq glanced up at Glinda, who was looking at Fiyero, who in turn was trying to twirl his pasta with his fork. He then turned to Elphaba, who had already begun to start on her food.

10 minutes into eating in complete and utter silence, Glinda began the conversation again. She nudged at Fiyero. "How's things at the office today?"

"It wouldn't be professional of me to talk about Arjiki work right now," Fiyero replied with a small wink. "Although, I _can_ say that I noticed Miss Elphaba being particularly paranoid today at her office." He glanced over to Elphie and smiled broadly.

Elphaba huffed as she swallowed her food, "Don't you have better things to do than to look over to my office all day?"

"You can see into each other's offices?" Nessa blinked.

"Why yes, yes we can. My office is pretty cool. I can see the sunset in the horizon, and the birds flying across the Emerald City sky… Although in the corner of my eye, there's always something green."

"Must've been your pinkeye. Might want to get that checked." Elphaba quipped.

Fiyero raised a brow amusedly, "Miss Elphaba. Don't act so innocent. I see you looking over too."

"In your dreams, calzone boy."

"Calzone boy?"

"You've eaten half of the mini calzones we had on the table."

"There were like 10."

"And you ate like 5."

"How would you know if you weren't staring at me eating?"

"I can't help it, you eat like a stupid person."

"What? Now that's just unwarranted."

"You twirl your pasta. Who does that?"

"How else am I going to get it in my _mouth_?"

"You twist it and then you put it in!"

"Well that sounds painful."

"Don't be disgusting, you pig."

"That's just one opinion."

Fiyero smirked, while Elphaba scowled. And Boq? Well, Boq observed. He noticed the brightness in Elphaba's eyes, something that only happened when she was angry or being excessively passionate about something. And Fiyero had this look – this yearning to provoke Elphaba. He wasn't quite sure what was happening there.

Next to him, Nessa was wide eyed, and just for a second, Boq and her shared a moment. She seemed to be seeing something, while he was just confused. He then turned to Glinda, and the only word that he could put to that expression on her face was _knowing_.

* * *

It was a couple of hours before Boq, Glinda and Fiyero would leave Elphaba's apartment. Nessa would be staying over and spending a couple of days in the city before heading back to school. She sat in her wheel chair quietly, watching as Elphaba waved at her friends by the door as she nursed a hot tea.

Finally, the siblings were alone. Elphaba turned and looked at her sister, a small frown on her lips, and Nessa knew exactly why.

"We don't have to talk about it." She said sternly, although she was sure that Elphaba wouldn't be backing down tonight. Not after she had accidentally let slip that she had been attending graduate school instead of joining the convent as she had so passionately declared she would do just 2 years ago.

"You said you were going right in." Her sister sat on the couch, crossing her legs awkwardly in the skirt that she hadn't had the chance to change out of. "You _declared_ it really, in front of father and me."

"Yeah, well, things change, Fabala."

Elphaba raised a brow.

"I met someone." She started slowly, gently.

Elphaba groaned.

"Don't be childish." Nessa scolded, "I met someone, but we didn't work out. Father never knew." She took a long sip from her tea, and she could tell that it was annoying Elphaba to no end. She hated when people paused while they were explaining things. "Even though we couldn't make it work, he left me with something…"

"Don't tell me." Elphaba narrowed her eyes, "Oh, don't tell me—"

"I'm not pregnant, for god's sake."

Elphaba seemed to lighten at that. "Oh."

"He left me with music."

"What?"

Nessa smiled broadly. "Music. Ronin was a musician, and he played and sang like an angel. But a musician… Father wouldn't have approved."

"What does this have to do with—"

"—I'm not done, Fabala."

"Right."

"As I was saying. He left me with music, and I've fallen in love with it. I love the sounds and melodies, almost as much as I love my religion… The convent of the unnamed god doesn't allow the practising of music, Elphaba. I've only just found the gift of music, I can't give it up now… I'm studying in the Richt's Conservatory in Saint Hovur's."

Elphaba seemed to consider this for a while. She got up, brushed her skirt and stepped into her kitchenette. Nessa sat by, watching curiously as her sister filled her boiler with tap water and turned on the power.

"Are you going to tell him?" She asked.

Nessa parted her lips to answer, but found that her voice was caught in her throat. She wasn't sure if she could do it. She had seen how disappointed Father had been whenever Elphaba did or said something that didn't come in line with the teachings of the Unnamed God – and she had been told, again and again, that she was the only hope he had left… He had long since given up hope on trying to school Elphaba into their religion.

Elphaba looked at her severely, already knowing what had gone through her head – her elder sister seemed to possess this gift of knowing what she was going to do or say before Nessa herself knew what to think of it.

"You have to. He'll find out eventually." She reminded her.

Nessa exhaled sharply, cursing a younger her for allowing herself to fall into this trap. "I don't know, Fabala. He'll be so disappointed…"

"Maybe tell him that I did something before you break _your_ news to him." Elphaba suggested dryly. It was no secret that she had already accepted the fact that their father would always favour Nessa, no matter what Elphaba would achieve in her lifetime.

And although she had always felt really bad for Elphaba, she knew that it the Unnamed God's will that Elphaba be the bearer of this cross.

"I'll tell him after my winter semester starts." Nessa offered, her hands stroking the tea cup. "At least then I could stay on campus and not have to see the disappointment on his face."

"Oh, you've learnt something from me after all." Elphaba quipped with a small laugh. Nessa joined in. It was so strange, having to share this particular moment with her sister. She had never felt father's disappointment, because everything would automatically become Elphaba's fault. But these few years, with her sister gone away from home, first to college then to the Emerald City, Nessa had begun to feel it.

Without Elphaba to blame, father had been confused. Nothing had ever been his little Nessarose's fault, so what could possibly be happening? It took Nessa a little while to realize it as well – just the extent of how much she had come to rely on her sister, and how Elphaba had been her bullet sponge her entire life.

"Why didn't you tell me when I came home to visit last month?"

Nessa shrugged, "I didn't know how to bring it up. And besides, you were so ready to leave the moment the dinner was over, we hardly had enough time to reconnect."

It hadn't been her intention to shame Elphaba, but her words came to that effect anyway.

"I'm sorry." Her elder sister said.

Nessa felt a pang in her heart. Guilt, was what they called it. And she wasn't used to apologizing either, especially to Elphaba. The only thing that she had ever known was that anything that went wrong was simply Elphaba's fault.

Elphaba seemed to sense her internal struggles as she brushed at a crease on her skirt distractedly. She looked up at her sister, her face staunch and serious. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "So. Who is this Ronin and has he done anything to dishonour you."

At this, Nessa laughed.

* * *

Boq jumped when his phone began vibrating on the table where he'd left it. His apartment was silent, except for the sound of his typing on his laptop.

He reached down and checked for the sender, and his chest felt constricted when he saw that it had been Milla. He hadn't had the guts to ask her about the man that he'd saw her with this morning, and he had spent the entire day avoiding her in the office.

Every time he thought of Milla, that man would appear right next to him.

His wide, toothy smile. His pale, gillikinese skin. Next to Milla, he made sense. Much unlike Boq.

The two of them, Boq and Milla, _they_ didn't make sense. In the week that they had spent together as an incognito 'couple', he hadn't felt that it was real. She was always her bubbly self, and she was really good at pretending that nothing existed between the two of them – almost too good. It was as if she had been pretending her entire life.

It was when the two of them were alone together that she would change into the Milla that he knew. Her large, brown eyes conveying a hidden sadness beneath her sunny smile.

They never talked about it, however. She never wanted to talk about anything too 'serious'. He would give her time, was what he promised himself. Although, now… It was getting harder and harder to pretend that it was all okay.

* * *

Weeks came and went.

Elphaba found herself burying her thoughts into her work. Things seemed to be rather unstable right now for the people around her. Glinda was becoming increasingly short, while Boq was distracted all the time. The Grizzle Tech representatives were sending another proposal and becoming even bolder with their terms and conditions.

She found that her workload had begun to increase and something seemed to be lurking in the air. Time seemed to have its way with her, slipping by dangerously, and before she knew it, the white flakes had begun to fall across the Land of Oz

…

The winter mist coated the entire Emerald City is a beautiful blanket of snow. It would only be for another month or so, however. Then all this white would turn into a disgusting brown that everyone wished would simply melt away as soon as possible. The air was now consistently dry, causing people to hide their faces with scarves.

Elphaba had always thought that it was fun to see the people walking down the streets with their bright pink noses and half their face hidden behind a woollen shield.

It was a Saturday, her most favourite day. She would always wake up early on a Saturday to watch old cartoons and eat cold cereal with a tall glass of milk. It was the only day of the week where she would be up in the morning willingly. Except that today, she was out in the artisan's street, browsing for homemade scented oils from a hippy looking couple who owned the store.

The woman, Martha, smiled curiously at Elphaba every time she visited. Her skin was aged and weathered, and had a very pleasant bronze tint. She mentioned once before – when she could still actually speak – that her family was part vinkun. Her husband, who usually sat in an old rocking chair outside the store, was a pale man with an almost grey texture – Filaanian.

They were all outsiders, and they understood each other. Martha and her husband rarely interacted with Elphaba, but they knew her, and they smiled at her all the time.

"Do my eyes deceive me?"

She froze – recognizing the voice. She turned around, eyes narrowing slightly at the tall, russet haired vinkun who was grinning idiotically at her as he walked towards from the door. He had a haircut, she realized. He had always had nicely coiffed hair – not that she would ever admit that she noticed – but this shorter hair cut suited him… It was cleaner. Simple. Without the distraction that used to be his thousand dollar dishevelled hair, attention was immediately drawn to his impossibly sharp jawline and forest green eyes.

Fiyero had one of his hands buried in his coat pocket, and the other reached out to pick up a bottle of scented oil, scanning the label curiously. "I didn't know you used scented oils."

"I'm entitled to my vices."

"Vices?" He tilted the bottle slightly, noticing the price for the first time. His brows shot up, "W-Wow. Where's the decimal point on that?"

Martha, who was standing behind the counter, chuckled quietly, her face scrunching up in amusement. Fiyero turned and looked at her in bewilderment and Elphaba could see the glint of mischief in the old woman's eyes.

Fiyero sighed and returned his attention to Elphaba. Before he could say anything else, she asked, a little forcefully, "Why are you here?"

He seemed a little taken aback. "I was visiting a friend. He lives right down the street." He explained. "When I left his apartment, I heard some hollering over at the artisan's street, and I was struck by a thought."

"Oh really? What could that be?"

Fiyero smiled curiously, "I realized that I've never really shopped here before. I was just walking around when I thought I noticed something green in the corner of my eyes."

"I told you, go get that pinkeye checked."

He laughed at that, and Elphaba found that it was getting harder to keep her face straight around him. She turned away from him and picked out the oils that she had wanted to buy and brought them over to Martha. Fiyero followed behind diligently. Martha smiled sweetly at Fiyero, and then at Elphaba, taking a look at the oils that she had brought over and writing down the final sum on a piece of paper.

"You're sure that's right?" He looked over her shoulders, and she could almost feel the heat of his body so close to her.

She handed Martha her card, willing herself to ignore his presence, "Martha knows."

He made a little noise, and said nothing more. Once Martha was done with the transaction, she placed the bottles in a little bag and handed them to Elphaba, smiling widely and pointing animatedly at Fiyero.

Elphaba blinked blankly at her, not understanding.

Martha knew, though.

Martha always knows.

* * *

 **A/N** There's an awful lot of suspicious glances and people _knowing_ ;) On an unrelated note, this chapter was inspired by 'Suits' - the Legal Drama. I drew most of the imagery of the story from the show, and I've been playing it in my background as I wrote this chapter. It helps get me in the headspace for the businessAU :P

RavenCurls - I wish! I really do! But at least we're at a point where they're beginning to have some moments together! Wait up for the next chapter ;)

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - We'll get to it... Eventually :P Reward doesn't come without effort!

Mother yackel - Lol! That's true. You won't have to worry about seeing too much of Boq's private life though! It's ultimately Fiyeraba! And regarding Glinda, well, I think it'll be more about how she wants to deal with it as opposed whether she'll see it ;)

nonnybitch - Hahaha! The work to get them together would be what makes their eventual first kiss all the more awesome!

Just Me - Thank you! And as you've requested, here's chapter 13 ;)


	14. Chapter 14

**14.**

"We'll move on to the next item on the agenda."

Glinda resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the Grizzle Tech rep who was strutting about the meeting room. They had spent the last 30 minutes going on and on about their marketing plans for a possible Thropp Co. – Grizzle Tech project. Normally, Glinda would've paid more attention, except in this case she had already known from Elphaba that nothing would ever happen between Grizzle and Thropp.

"This is what we're proposing for the after-launch. Interviews, on all platforms. Traditional media, new media, everything. We'll plant the seeds – let people see Thropp Co's celebrity CEO with our own Elliot Todd."

Clarissa, Glinda's second-in-command, nudged her discretely and whispered, "They're pulling out the big guns today. Very detailed stuff."

"—we can see from this chart that over 50% of our proposed budget _will_ be funnelled into this leg of the campaign. We'll have plenty of room for the interviews and tv exclusives. Of course, we'll have billboards on Theatre Lane –"

"—Wait. Hold on." One of Glinda's marketing execs sat up from his seat, "The entire stretch for Theatre Lane is owned by Tenmeadews. They've held 51% shares since the first three theatres popped up along that street. How are you proposing we do this? It's going to be too expensive."

The Grizzle Tech rep, a short man with jet black hair and wire frame glasses, smiled broadly. It wasn't a nice smile, in the sense that Glinda felt particularly uncomfortable at the sight of it. It was the kind of smile that she imagined on a rapist or a mugger stalking a young woman in the shadows of the night.

"I'm glad you asked. The news would've been released by the end of the day anyway, but I'll tell you this. Grizzle Tech has signed a 5 year deal with Tenmeadews Corp – just for this project alone. We're expecting great things from our partnership with one of the biggest business entities in the Emerald City."

Glinda felt her blood freeze upon hearing that. Her eyes widened slightly and she stopped tapping her pen on the folder. She could hear Clarissa take a sharp, audible breath, right next to her. Her marketing execs had a harder time masking their shock and their eyes darted from each other to landing squarely on Glinda – their leader. She smiled sweetly, pretending to not understand the proverbial bomb that had been dropped on them.

This won't be good.

It won't be good at all.

* * *

The hotel that Boq had put her up in was one of the nicest buildings on this side of Ev.

The land beneath it was owned by Thropp Co. and everyone who saw Elphaba walking by either stared brazenly, or were so terrified of her that they would immediately turn tails when they saw her coming.

In short, Evians were exactly the same as Ozians.

It didn't matter that their language, culture and skin colour were wildly different to the four major Ozian races. Underneath it all, everyone understood that Elphaba was _most_ different. It seemed like it would be something that bound them all together.

She was sat down on a comfy chair, positioned nicely in front of the windows that dominated one side of her living space in her suite. She had barely gotten a bite of her room-service vegetarian falafel when her phone vibrated violently.

She checked the caller id and picked up immediately when she saw that it was Glinda.

"Green in Ev. How can I help you?"

"Elphie, we've got no time for jokes. I just got back from that meeting with Grizzle, you know – the one that you said I could throw out? Well something's changed."

"You tell me that we've got no time, and yet the only thing that I've gotten out of that was that 'something's changed'."

"It's big. You're going to have to ask Avaric directly, but the Grizzle rep just told us that Tenmeadews signed a 5 year deal with them. The papers were finalized in the afternoon."

Elphaba felt her eyes widen slightly, her brows raised to her hairline. "… That's…"

"I'm hoping that it's just for this project. Because if they start buying in together, we won't be able to hold them off for long with Tenmeadews as their backer."

"I'll get to the bottom of this." Elphaba said. Her mind was already reeling from the piece of information that Glinda had given her. She hadn't even considered what Glinda said to her before she hung up – she was too worked up.

The one jarring reason why Elphaba had refused Grizzle Tech so many times was because she knew that it was how they worked. They would propose a fantastic collaborative project, allowing them to work with a particular company, and slowly build a decently profitable partnership. Then bit by bit, they would start to include shares into their proposal conditions, or simply buy them themselves – only small numbers of course and usually for cheap because of their ongoing projects with the company.

And then, before you know it, Grizzle would owned enough shares in the company and enough influence over the shareholders and directors – because of their generous nature and profitable game plan – that they would outright buy out the company and incorporate them under their growing tech flag.

Elphaba hated it.

She'd seen some good people lose their livelihoods because of Grizzle. Most of the time, companies that couldn't assimilate to the take-over very well, tended to flop just months after being bought over. Grizzle would lose very little money over that because of insurance pay-outs. And just like that, innocent people lose their jobs.

She would rather chew her own arm off than to let Grizzle slither their way into Thropp Co. And now she'd have to quickly deal with her business here in Ev, settling a change in corporate management for the Thropp Co. Evian office after a local scandal with one of her upper execs, and book a flight back home – 3 days earlier than intended.

Elphaba sighed. She had wanted to spend one of the days visiting the _Domus Scientiam_ , the largest library in Ev… She cut a piece off her falafel with a fork and shoved it in her mouth unceremoniously. Right after dinner, she'd have to do one of the most hated chores as CEO in the company, one that even _she_ couldn't punt off to Boq or avoid forever.

Call Avaric Tenmeadews and set up a meeting.

* * *

"Have you called him?"

Crope looked up at Fiyero, who was standing by the kitchen counter, dressed only in his boarding school sweatpants and brewing a cup of tea. It was 11.40pm on a Wednesday, and today marked the first month since Crope had moved out of the apartment. One month since he began suspecting that Tibbett was getting himself into some serious trouble.

"I called last week." He said in a hushed voice, shifting slightly in his bed/Fiyero's couch. "He wants me to come home… He said that you visited him."

Fiyero leaned against the counter, the sound of water getting heated in the background, "I did. I wanted to see if I could get him to tell me what's happening with him. I haven't seen him around the office for a while now. Megan said that he clocked in for work, but his performance has been abysmal."

"I suppose, I wouldn't know." Crope sighed, stretching his legs out, "We've been getting these proposals from Grizzle Tech and we've got meetings with their representatives every other day. It's exhausting. I didn't even know that we were doing business with them."

"We aren't." Fiyero furrowed his brows in confusion, "We had the manager's meeting last Friday. Baldr mentioned that Grizzle had been showing an interest in working on some projects with us, but he hasn't made up his mind about them yet."

"Well then, out of my paygrade I suppose. Just an office drone." Crope offered a weak smile.

Fiyero shook his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose. A click went off behind him and he turned around to pour the hot water into his cup – the bottom of which was already filled with a spoonful of tea leaves. "Anyway. We can't keep this up, you know."

"Our scandalacious love affair?" Crope snorted.

Fiyero stirred his tea, and laughed, turning back around to face him. "You know what I talking about. I can't have you sleep on the couch for the next 10 years. As much as I love having you around… it's not sustainable… It's been a month, Crope." Fiyero walked towards the couch and sat down on the other end, placing the cup down on the coffee table and allowing his tea to seep.

Crope exhaled slowly, his eyes fluttering shut. "I know, Yero. And I know I'm overstaying—"

"—it's not that I don't want you here." Fiyero insisted again.

Crope laughed lightly, pulling a pillow to his chest, "I know. I've just been… I've been hiding and running away from the elephant in the room. It's ridiculous. But I don't know how to fix it, Yero. He won't tell me what's wrong. He won't even tell _you_ what's wrong."

"Let me hire that P.I."

"I – I can't do that to him."

"He's self-destructing, Crope. We have to help him." Fiyero's lips were in a thin line, "And we can't help if we don't know what's wrong."

Crope stared at his friend, trying to fight back the idea. But the ugly truth was that if he truly loved Tibbett, and he knew that his best friend and partner was going down a path where he couldn't follow, he needed to help him – whether he wanted him to or not.

He couldn't let Tibbett do this alone.

He wouldn't.

Fiyero was still waiting for his response – and Crope wanted to tell him that his tea was getting cold, just a bit of his old snippy tongue coming back to make light of a serious situation. He sighed, and nodded. "… Alright, fine."

"Good." The vinkun smiled lightly. "I'll give my guy a call tomorrow. We'll rest easy tonight."

"Right." He found himself grinning. His heart lightened significantly, knowing that the end to this madness was soon. "Oh, I wanted to ask. Did you go to that scented oils store I told you about at the artisan's street? You need to stop buying from the department store for that thousand dollar oil warmer of yours. Have some dignity."

Fiyero seemed to flush lightly. "I did actually. After I visited Tibby… I saw Elphaba."

"Oh! Miss Green! She didn't seem like the scented oils type. Or the artisan's street type."

"Yeah, well. She's really into them apparently." Fiyero recounted, and a curious smile began to play on his lips. Crope wondered if he even knew that he was doing that. "Dropped big bucks that day. I brought her to lunch after that and dropped her off at Glinda's."

"You bought lunch for the green lady?"

Fiyero shrugged at that, not noticing the incredulous look on Crope's face. "We're friends now. We talk sometimes, when I visit Glin's apartment. I was at her birthday thing too."

Crope felt his brows rise slowly towards his hairline. He wasn't sure if Fiyero, himself, even knows what he's saying right now, because it's what he's _not_ saying that makes it more damning. The little smile that he's wearing on his face was something that he haven't seen since Sarima.

And that was a period in time where he would prefer to never revisit.

He wasn't sure if he should share his observations with Fiyero, considering that he's currently seeing a particular blonde haired, blue eyed gillikinese marketing director from Thropp Co. It wasn't as if Fiyero had conveniently forgotten about Glinda either – Crope knew that Fiyero was still visiting his girlfriend often. Although, right now it seemed like his visits might've been spurred on by _other_ reasons…

He sighed internally. This might be something that Fiyero would have to figure out himself. Lurline knows that he's got other things to worry about right now.

* * *

The Emerald City looked like a nightmare.

The streets were covered in ankle-deep snow, layering her boots in a sheet of white with each step that she took. Every foot print in front of her made by other people were almost immediately filled in by the white stuff that was still floating down from the grey, city skies.

Elphaba had seen the news on the flight from Ev.

A dastardly blizzard – the worst in many decades – had fallen upon the Emerald City, literally overnight. She had been stuck in Ev for an additional 3 days because of how unrelenting the snow had been. It took a million phone calls and angry email correspondences before she could finally catch a break and booked the first available flight out.

But of course, it had been a transit to Frottica. Air travel to the city was impossible at the time. Elphaba had to catch the Gillikin Express to Shiz – which had been a nightmare on its own; she hated the tediousness of trains – and finally hire a car that would take her from Shiz to the Emerald City.

She had forgotten how annoying travel had been without airplanes.

And so, when she had finally arrived in the city that she so loved, after many days of travel, Elphaba found herself squinting at the mountains of fresh powder – heaping on top of everything. She walked from the city checkpoint to a diner nearby, her boots already slightly damp on the inside because of the tiny mount of snow she had accidentally stepped in when she came out of the car.

Her driver would be coming in from the City Centre to pick her up, but many of roads were closed off because of the snow. He recommended that she find some place to hide out for a while.

The warmth from the diner's radiator felt like a friendly embrace when she stepped in and shut the door behind her. She was brought to a table by the windows, allowing her to observe the City denizens going about their daily life. An ancient looking tv was mounted on a metal wall shelf near the diner's counter, and the sound of an afternoon soap drama played in the background.

"Coffee, black." The middle-aged quadling waitress placed the white porcelain cup in front of Elphaba gingerly. Her bronzed-red skin was a rarity in these parts. "Would you like some sugars, sweetheart? Donny's cuppa is stronger than it smells."

"No thanks. I'll be fine." Elphaba replied gently. She watched as the quadling scrunched up her nose.

"Don't say I didn't warn ya."

When the waitress had left, Elphaba turned to her coffee. It seemed unsuspecting enough. Dark and strong, just like any other black coffees she had sampled. Cockily, she took a large sip, and immediately regretted her foolishness. She internalized a cough, not willing to allow the waitress the sense of satisfaction for having besting her.

Donny's cuppa was certainly something else.

Her phone vibrated in her jacket pocket, and Elphaba had contemplated ignoring it until the sensation begun to irritate her. It wouldn't be her driver – it was much too soon… and he knew better than to call her. Elphaba very much preferred texting. Without even glancing at the caller id, she picked up.

"Who is this?"

The person on the other line scoffed. "Is this any way to speak to your old friend and pal?"

"Avaric." Elphaba rolled her eyes, and her free hand had immediate reached for the coffee again.

"A little birdy told me that you'd like to meet up. That's a first, coming from you."

She could almost _hear_ the smirk on Avaric's handsome face right now, and she wanted nothing but to push that same face into a nice, brick wall.

"It's business, Avaric."

"I'll tell you what. I'll book a nice place, restaurant maybe. One with good munchkin food, you'll like that. And after that we can go to a club in the City Centre—"

" _Business_." She interrupted harshly. Her eyes were narrowing, despite not having this conversation face to face, although in part, it had been because of the coffee that she had just sipped… Oz's balls, what did Donny put in this thing?!

Avaric made a noise, which sounded like he was put off by her response. "We'll talk." He assured, "But Tenmeadews do business in style. I'll get my secretary to contact your little P.A." Avaric laughed meanly, "I'll be seeing you."

And he was gone.

She pulled her phone away from her ear and stared down at it as if it was the filthiest thing she had ever held in her hand. She knew damn well that a deep scowl was featured on her lips, but did nothing to rectify that. Speaking to Avaric Tenmeadews – and setting that meeting with him – had been as unpleasant as she had imagined. Except, she hadn't thought that he would actually call her himself.

"Arrogant son-of-a—"

"—Elphaba?"

She hadn't had time to register the voice. It was much too familiar and much too _close_. The voice came from behind her, and she turned just in time to see that he had stepped over to the seat directly opposite to hers and made himself comfortable.

The familiar scent of his cologne – a very pleasant combination of woodland smells – brought her back to a happier time. Her eyes had finally set themselves on his face. Lightly bronzed-red skin, aged slightly from the last she had seen him. His eyes were deep-set, and painfully expressive. The warm amber of his eyes had always been the features that stayed with her. His sunset red hair was cut short from the last time they had met – it was shaved down on the sides now in a very professional fade.

He was looking at her as if he were waiting for her to speak.

Elphaba couldn't, however. She felt as if speaking would break the illusion. It couldn't be him sitting in front of her right now. It didn't feel real. They've lived in the same city for the last few years and had managed to avoid each other rather effectively. Why did he have to choose _now_ to appear?

When it was clear that she wouldn't be speaking to him, he took his satchel off his shoulders and placed it squarely on the seat next to him. "I've missed you." He said, voice like melted butter.

She finally managed to clear her throat, a little too forcefully. Her heart was pounding in her ears.

"I don't care."

It was almost stupid how easily both of them could tell that she was lying. His lips pulled into a little smile as he pushed his glasses a little higher on the bridge of his nose.

"Isn't it funny? We've been living in the same city for the last 2, 3 years? And we haven't even met up for a cup of coffee."

"We meant for it to be like this, remember?"

He wasn't smiling anymore, and she had almost regretted saying that. Even after all this time, at his mere presence, she had reverted into a girl almost 10 years younger. He reached for the menu that she had tossed aside just minutes ago and begun looking through it.

" _You_ meant for it to be like this. I wanted us to stay friends." He lowered the menu slightly, his eyes levelled hers, "remember?"

Elphaba shifted uncomfortably.

He sighed. "I wanted to call, y'know?"

"It's okay, I don't have a phone."

"Fae…"

"Don't call me that."

He frowned, and even as he did, his face still looked like it belonged not on a person, but on the cover page of a magazine. He put the menu down completely, and without warning, he reached over and grabbed her hands, cupping them in his own. He was warm, and his hands were rough… They were familiar.

Elphaba wasn't sure why, but she found it difficult to pull away… So she let him hold her.

"We can forget that that night never happened. I never left, and you never said those things." He said, his thumbs were slowly rubbing little circles on the back of her hands. He watched for her reaction, but she didn't know how to respond to that. It was too sudden… and things, well… Things had changed.

"We're not in Shiz anymore." She said dryly, retracting her hands from his, but immediately missing the warmth from the contact. "I'm the chief executive at my own company and I live in my own apartment."

He smiled slightly. "You're not rooming with Galinda?"

"It's Glinda. She had it changed in our third year."

"Of course, I should've remembered that."

Elphaba snorted. "You really should. You were the Teacher's Assistant for Lurline's sake."

"Lurline? I didn't hear from Frex that you were religious again." He tilted his head slightly.

"It's just an expression." She took a sip from her now lukewarm coffee, "I've never been religious. You should know."

"What about that box of fun things that your father sent over on your first weekend in the dorms?" He grinned at the memory, obviously still amused by the incident. "I sincerely thought that you hid them under your bed because you didn't want Galin – sorry – _Glinda_ knowing."

"You lived with us in the house before you left for Shiz, you should've known how much distaste I had for religion. It wasn't as if I hadn't been vocal about it."

"Yes, but you've also spent majority of your time hiding out in the library and refusing to speak to me. And you spend your weekdays with your great-grandfather in the city anyway."

Elphaba flushed slightly. "You were Nessa's tutor. Why on earth would I speak to you?"

He chuckled. "Honestly, I thought you hated me. I tried to make myself feel better by pretending that the reason you didn't want to open up was because you had a crush on me." He pulled his lips into a lopsided smile. "Turns out, I was right."

She knew that her cheeks were engulfed in a fierce blush, but could do nothing about it. "I was 14." She reasoned. "And you were handsomer back then. Less wrinkles."

He laughed, and she fought back a smile. She really should be angry at him. He was the one who left, and now he thinks that he could waltz back into her life – coming and going as he pleases. But it's hard. As strong and cold as she liked to believe that she was, Elphaba knew that this was a hard battle to win.

* * *

It was hours before her driver would arrive.

By then it was already too late.

He had somehow managed to worm his way back into her life, and she was left staring at his name and number in her phone's contacts page. Elphaba groaned in the backseat of the car as her driver struggled to find a route that would've involve running into a roadblock.

Thaddeus Huntley.

His nickname as a Teacher's Assistant had been 'Turtle Heart'. The students in his architectural classes had given it to him because of his quadling ancestry. Ted had mostly embraced the nickname, saying that it was a form of camaraderie between him and the students. Elphaba simply said that it was a cruel joke – one that had been started by her roommate's stupid friends.

…

They were together a week into her first year.

He left her in her final year.

…

Ted had received an offer from a renowned architectural firm in the Emerald City, and he figured that they wouldn't be able to work things out... He was – at the time – 31. The age gap would've caused a scene if anyone in his new firm had found out that his girlfriend was barely out of her teens. He couldn't risk that. And she needed to focus on her career anyway. Thropp Co. was a huge responsibility. Her place was there.

But now…

Why did it have to be now…?

Her car drove along 34th Main Street. On one side was the building that belonged to her. The very modern, grey slated Thropp building. On the other side, directly opposite to them, was the Arjiki building. It was a warm, brown building. Very classy.

But it wasn't the buildings that caught her attention.

It was a particular russet haired vinkun who was walking down the street.

* * *

"You're back!"

Fiyero found himself beaming at Elphaba as she exited her car. He had just been out to grab a coffee from the Old-Hen's café after lunch when he noticed a familiar car making an illegal turn and stopping right next to him. It was illogical how fast his heart was beating right now, just at the sight of the green woman in front of him.

"I just came back a couple of hours ago." She replied blandly, awkwardly. It felt almost as if she hadn't intended to come up to Fiyero in the middle of the street… and now that she _did_ it, she didn't know what she should be saying.

He appreciated it nonetheless.

It was only a few days but it had felt really boring around Glinda's apartment without Elphaba to make some sort of off-color joke… He missed their banter. Glinda had been a little odd lately, and Fiyero didn't really know why. It was almost like she was trying to distance herself from him. He made a mental note to talk to her about it, but for now, he had his hands full with his situation with Tibbett and the new annoyance that was Grizzle Tech.

"I can't believe you managed to get a flight in from Ev. I heard that nobody had been able to fly in or out in the last couple of days."

Elphaba shrugged lightly, her eyes refusing to meet his. "I flew to Frottica. They're still refusing to let us fly into the city, so I had to take a train to Shiz and get a car the rest of the way."

"What's so important that you'll be willing to travel by planes, trains and car?" He blinked, astonished.

Elphaba pulled her coat a little closer to her body. To the untrained eye, her expression betrayed very little, although he could tell from the little turn to her grey lips that it wasn't anything good. She glanced around, as if to make sure that they weren't being eavesdropped.

"Grizzle Tech. Annoying little bastards." She grumbled.

Fiyero crushed his brows together in confusion. "You too? I keep hearing their name recently… Baldr hasn't made up his mind about them."

A little crease appeared on Elphaba's forehead. "I don't like them."

"You don't like anyone." He felt his lips pull into a smile.

"Well, I haven't had the best of relationships with most people." She deadpanned, "Might be the green. Maybe I should try a different color for the next season."

"I'm a big fan of hazel." He grinned, wriggling his brows at her.

She tried to keep her face stoic, but he could already tell from the tiny twitch on the corner of her lips that she was amused. This only made his grin grow wider. They stood by the sidewalk, just two people smiling at each other unassumingly. It was almost like a scene straight out of a romantic movie.

Except that this was different.

This was two people who happened to be friends, and they were simply sharing a quiet moment together before they had to go their separate ways. One back to his office in the big city and later that night, into the loving arms of his partner – and the other to an empty apartment with a water fixture that she rather detested…

…

…

…

Fiyero didn't like this at all.

He didn't like that he could stand so close to her, and yet he couldn't touch her. He wanted to hold her hand, and never let go. He wanted to wrap his arms around her waist, and just stay there for a little while. He wanted to hug her and be with her, and just hold her all the god damned time.

It was wrong.

He couldn't think that.

He was supposed to be with Glinda.

They were supposed to get married and have two beautiful children.

This was supposed to be the end.

He hadn't felt this way about someone since Sarima – and this time, it was even stronger than when he was with her… Because Elphaba wasn't out to destroy him. Elphaba wasn't a lying hell spawn who was only interested in him because of his family's money.

…

…

…

Elphaba might not even feel the same for him.

* * *

 **A/N** First of all, this chapter might be a little shorter than you guy would've liked... Rest assured, good things are coming up ;)  
Secondly, I'd like to apologize for the late posting. I've been very busy with work and my hobbies had to sit aside for a little while. I'd still love to hear what you guys have to say about this chapter though... The identity of T.H is finally revealed! Was it at all who you guys had thought it was?

Just Me - I love Martha too. She's the sort of woman who've seen and done alot in life and now that she's old, she's just hanging around and trying to set her customers up with each other.

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - Have a little faith in me ;) We'll get to our Fiyeraba. As for the others in the story though... :P

nonnybitch - Sorry for the delay! Hahaha! I don't have as much time as I'd like to sit and write unfortunately. I've got 25 chapters planned right now and I do have some other ideas swimming around in my head that are modern Oz, so I wouldn't want to drag this story on for longer than it should!

Mother yackel - Your reviews are always so interesting to read haha! We'll see about the Bessa though :P


	15. Chapter 15

**15.**

"Boq? Hey – Where are you—"

His heart was beating loudly against his ears as he scampered off to the emergency stairwell, basically running down the stairs to safety. Behind him, he could hear Milla's footsteps closing in after him – damn his munchkin legs!

She didn't follow him all the way though. When he closed the 45th floor stairway door behind him, he exhaled sharply, shooting glares at the accountants who were wandering around the floor. There was only the sound of phones ringing and office drones scampering around, talking rapidly about finances and accounting for the various projects that the company was undertaking – and suddenly, he felt wildly out of place.

He haven't talked to her since he saw her with that man on the street. He haven't even replied her texts or acknowledged her calls. Every time he saw her walking towards his desk, he would make an excuse and slip into Elphaba's office, pretending to deliver important news.

It was the coward's way out, of course, but Boq haven't had much experience in the realms of romance. The two of them weren't really a couple. They never talked about it or gave it a name, but it hurt still.

He really liked her.

* * *

"It's going to be Lurlinemas soon."

Fiyero blinked blankly at his girlfriend as she huddled close to him. They were sitting together on a bench, resting their legs after a long walk through the park. It was white everywhere, and usually Fiyero would've hated the snow, but right now, it seem almost magical.

Just another weekend.

"Sure is." He replied.

Glinda was quiet for a little while, and they both simply looked out to the large pond, which had frozen over in the cold and had little kids skating across the surface. Their faces pink with glee and their parents were holding their hands as they taught their little ones to balance on the ice. It was a beautiful scene – everyone looked so happy.

Although, happy wasn't exactly how she was feeling right now.

It should've been them. They were a good-looking couple. They got along swimmingly. The sex was amazing. What else could they have needed? What else is there to making a relationship work? They don't fight – ever. That's supposed to be a good thing, right?

And yet…

…

…

…

Well, there was something obvious about emptiness, even when you try to convince yourself otherwise.

…

…

…

Her head was rested on his shoulders, and her arm was wrapped around his. They were very still, and the air between them was… awkward. It almost felt like they weren't supposed to be doing this anymore. The lunch that they had earlier had been filled with small talk, trailing off often and honestly not very impressive.

A puppy ran across the path in front of them, its owner fumbling after it with the leash threatening to fly out of his hands. Glinda felt a little rumble from Fiyero's chest, as if he were laughing. She looked up and noticed the small, unassuming smile on his lips.

He never really smiled like that for her.

And it wasn't as if she had been completely head over heels for him either.

They were just two people who happened to come together, and it wasn't fair for either of them. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that they had little to no chemistry when it came down to it. She had seen the way he looked at Elphaba… When the two of them looked at each other, it was as if a candle had been lit in a dark room – something was happening there and it felt like everyone knew except for the two involved.

The thing that distressed her – initially anyway – was how little she minded the idea of Fiyero and Elphaba together. She should've felt betrayed, or angry even – but there was nothing like that. Just a little shocked that the two of them had gotten along at all, and to be so friendly with each other that they might've unknowingly caught feelings for each other.

Fiyero might've noticed that he was catching feelings, assuming that Glinda knew him as well as she thought she did, but Elphaba definitely did not know what was happening to her.

It's hard to be mad at either of them. It hurt, of course, but it wasn't as if Elphaba was the type to go around stealing her boyfriends. In fact, Glinda had been trying to introduce some nice men to Elphie but she always seemed to coil away from romance – even in college.

The only guy that she would associate herself with was that Teacher's Assistant from Glinda's architecture class – of whom she explained was a family friend from Munchkinland, and in their final year in Shiz – Boq.

And now, Elphaba might finally be romantically attracted to a person, and it just so happened to be the guy she was currently dating.

The ball was in Glinda's court.

* * *

"What _is_ that?" Elphaba frowned deeply at the strange, brown pudding that Thaddeus had put in front of her. She was leaning against the counter from inside her kitchenette, keeping a safe distance from Ted, who was on the other side of the counter.

He pulled his lips into a knowing smile and jabbed at the pudding with the spoon, "Low-fat cocoa bean pudding. It's good, I swear it. The new guy from my firm brought us to this healthy dessert place the other day. You'll like it – it's all vegan."

"So, you call me at 7pm, saying that it's important that you see me right that instant. 10 minutes later you appear at my doorstep with vegan pudding?" She asked incredulously as she folded her arms across her chest. She had wanted to sound intimidating, but being dressed in a loose, grey hoodie and black sweatpants made her look more like an angry college kid than anything else.

Thaddeus, having dumped his winter coat on one of her bar stools, rolled his sleeves to his elbows, and stepped behind her kitchen counter, going around as if he lived in this apartment. Elphaba quickly shifted away from him, avoiding the touch of his skin. She didn't like who she became when the two of them got too close to each other.

"You'll thank me when you get a bite of that." He grinned. It was almost boyish – very much like Fiyero.

She watched cautiously as he proceeded to fill her broiler with some tap water, beginning the process of making some tea. Looks like he was planning to stay for a while.

"You're certainly making yourself quite comfortable here, aren't you?" She raised a brow at him. They've been separated for years, and now he was behaving as if nothing had changed. "Why are you here, Thaddeus?"

He was putting in the tea leaves when he paused and turned around to face her. It gave her the chance to really look at him. The red stubble along his jaw was growing out into a million different directions. The texture on his forehead was telling of his age. Clubmaster glasses remain perched on his nose.

"… I think you know, Fae." He said softly, albeit in a tone that asserted himself. It made her feel small again. Younger, and more vulnerable than she had ever allowed herself to be. For a moment, she had forgotten her anger towards him.

She found that she was still very attracted to him. The feelings that she had thought were gone had come back again, slowly but surely. Although now, things were very, very different. There was something at the back of her head that nagged at her, and something in her heart that tugged…

And image of Fiyero, smirking – like he always did – and sitting on a park bench, flashed in her mind again. The image from the dreams that she had thought were long gone. He stood up and walked towards her, his hands on her hips and his forehead to hers. He was so close to her, so much so that she could see the individual lashes on his eyes… His startling green eyes…

" _I made a mistake_." The dream Fiyero said, no longer smiling. " _It was you. It was you all along._ "

Elphaba felt her heart pound harder. Was this really what he was saying? Was he talking about Glinda? She must be going insane. To think about Fiyero this way – to _betray_ Glinda like that. What in Oz was she thinking?! It can't be real. He was her friend, and nothing more. She can't do this.

He was talking again, but it was too overwhelming for her. She couldn't hear what he was saying.

The dream Fiyero's hands shifted up to cup her face, and her breath became laboured. The only thing she could hear now was her heart in her ears… And it was so… uncomfortably… warm…

His eyes were locked on hers, and she could see the little flecks in his green eyes… They were lidded, and she felt her own eyes flutter shut as he closed the distance between them, his hardened body pressed against hers, and their lips crashing together.

* * *

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Fiyero said as he cut the power to the car. He turned to face Glinda, who didn't look very surprised at all. They were in the basement carpark of her apartment, where nobody else seemed to be roaming about. The cold, grey walls surrounding them only seemed to reflect their current situation.

Her lips were in a thin line, as if she were choosing her words very carefully in her head. Fiyero had seen this look before. He was rarely on the receiving end to it, but he's seen enough to know where this was going.

"You're breaking up with me, aren't you?"

Glinda was still quiet.

Fiyero exhaled heavily, leaning back into his seat. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen it coming. In fact, he had almost imagined doing it himself recently, but it was all he dared to do – imagine. He knew that he haven't been very fair to Glinda, and it was exactly because he actually did like Glinda that made it all the more difficult to breach… It looks like she would be the braver of the two of them.

"I think we both know that this isn't exactly working out." She said finally. She didn't sound angry, or accusatory. Just a little sad – and it only served to make him feel even worse. "I like you, I really do… We'll still be friends, right?"

…

Friends.

Usually, it would've been the icing on the cake that set him off, but this time, he knew that she was sincere. And he really did wish that they could still stay friends. He'd come to care for Glinda… just maybe not the way that either of them had hoped.

Fiyero sighed, and turned to Glinda, seeing the small, pleading smile on her lips… He found himself smiling back.

Friends.

Yeah, they'll still be friends.

* * *

She never questioned it when he had suddenly appeared in front of her at that diner that day. She should've been more shocked when she saw him again – it was only later that it set in. There were too many things cramming in her brain at that time. She had only _now_ realized how ridiculous everything seemed to be.

The man lying next to her, naked and asleep, was the same man who left her nearly 3 years ago. It wasn't an angry break-up, but it still stuck with her for a long time – it had scarred her deeper than she had initially thought. He had been her first and only, and she had resigned herself to being alone for the rest of her life. Elphaba refrained from being dramatic, but it really was how she had felt.

And now.

Now he was back, just magically so, and in a confused daze, she had somehow ended up in bed with him – _again_.

If only it had been as simple as a one night stand.

The thing that Elphaba was racking her brain about was how she had somehow imagined that it was Fiyero who was holding her close to him and planting his lips to hers. She could remember wanting him and kissing him back with as much fervour as he did… Only she realized later that it wasn't Fiyero who was kissing her – it was Thaddeus.

The damage was done though. As much as she would've liked to deny it, it was much too obvious now. She had wanted Fiyero. She wanted his hands on her body, and she wanted his lips on hers… She wanted it so much it had almost become a _need_ – one that drove her muddled brain to believe that Ted might've been Fiyero, and that whatever they were doing just now was actually with the russet haired vinkun.

She didn't _actually_ cheat on anyone or anything, but the fact that she had thought that Ted was Fiyero when they slept together made it feel as if she did.

She felt dirty.

The thought of seeing either Glinda or Fiyero again only served to make her want to leap off the roof of her building. She groaned, softly, and flopped herself to her belly, burying her face in her pillow. What could _possibly_ top this nightmare?

* * *

It was a week later when Glinda found herself snacking on microwave popcorn and binging on true crime documentaries. To the untrained eye, it would seem like she was nursing a broken heart after having broken up with Fiyero. But in all truth, Glinda had felt rather indifferent.

She really should've felt more pain and hurt, but she almost felt like she had done a service. Elphaba and Fiyero would eventually figure it out and get together, and Glinda would be there to help speed up the process – call it a _project_ , if you will.

So it wasn't sadness that she was wallowing in – it just so happened that she very much enjoyed microwave popcorn and true crime TV on a Friday night. A sound rang off from her phone and she picked it up from her coffee table. A quick glance told her that it had been Elphaba, attempting to call her. The weird thing was that she had hung up only 10 seconds into calling.

Now, there was a curious case with that Elphaba. For an entire week, she had been a little out of sorts and a little dazed. She was often moody – more so than usual – and she had been avoiding being alone with Glinda. Even on the lift that Tuesday, Elphaba had pretended to be on the phone with someone just so she wouldn't have to talk to Glinda. She had known that Elphie was pretending because she was holding her phone upside down - technology had always confused her.

If it had been a less busy season in the office, Glinda would've hunted her down and forced her to tell her what was going on, but things had been hectic, and Lurlinemas was coming. Everyone – and she meant _everyone –_ was up to their ears with work.

She pursed her lips and was just seconds away from calling Elphie back when loud knocking came from her door, startling her and making her drop her bowl of popcorn.

"Damn it—"

The knocking became a little more impatient, and she grumbled lowly, annoyed. It was supposed to be her night off! Who could be banging on her door in the middle of the night? She checked herself quickly on her phone's front facing camera and after fixing her hair a little bit, she finally made her way to the door.

She peeked in, expecting a delivery boy or even a flustered neighbour who might've been locked out of their own apartment, but she certainly hadn't been expecting a wild Elphaba, popping up from nowhere after all her efforts in avoiding her. Quickly, she unlocked her door and let it swing open.

"Well, well, well. Look who's here." She placed a hand on her hip, refusing to budge from the door, feeling a little sassier than usual.

Elphaba looked a little surprised. Dressed in a neat coat and what seemed like a bland, thick sweater underneath, she was the image of someone who definitely did not care about how she had looked before she stepped out of her apartment.

"Can I come in?" She asked, a little awkwardly. She looked like a kicked puppy, and it made Glinda sad – for a lack of a better word. She really did love this silly green woman.

Feeling supremely bad for putting Elphaba in a spot like this, and for all the goodness in her heart, Glinda sighed and stepped aside. Elphaba pulled off her boots and placed them neatly on the rack by the door. She stepped in, and removed her coat, hanging it on the hook.

"Are you going to make me ask?" Glinda raised a brow at her best friend as she proceeded into her kitchenette and begun to boil some water for tea.

"Earl Grey?" Elphaba blinked blankly, following Glinda in. "You've got popcorn on the floor."

The blonde rolled her eyes, "You were avoiding me all week, and now you've suddenly decided to come visit?"

There was no response from Elphie, but Glinda knew that the green woman was probably sulking right about now. Whenever Elphaba was feeling bad about something, instead of apologizing like a normal human being, she would sulk and grumble and complain.

The water boiler was filled with some tap water and Glinda set it boil. She turned around and saw that Elphaba was leaning against the counter, arms across her chest – as if she were hugging herself. She had never seen Elphaba quite like that before.

"Elphie," Glinda started, her voice laced in concern, "What's wrong?"

Elphaba scratched on her bicep, against the thick material of her grey sweater. "There's something I have to tell you."

Was she about to confess her affection for Fiyero? Glinda felt her breath catch on her throat. Was she ready for this? She shifted away from the boiler and folded her arms, her thumb instinctively going up to her lips as she chewed on her nail… it was ruining the manicure she just had last weekend but this was much too suspenseful and stressful – she couldn't help herself.

"I've been so torn up about this, I couldn't eat – I couldn't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I remember."

Glinda paused on the chewing, distracted by the loud thumbing of her heart in her ears. This was it. Elphaba was going to confess. She had thought that it would've taken her longer to come to terms with it, but this was it, wasn't it? That vulnerability on her face, the way she was trying to protect herself through her body language. It was happening.

"... He was the first person to ever know me… And I know that it's a little taboo, especially in Munchkinland…"

First person to… What? Glinda blinked blankly. How could a relationship between her and Fiyero be taboo, especially in Munchkinland? Was it because he's a vinkun? What was Elphaba talking about?

"When he bumped into me that day at the diner, I wanted to run. But when I saw his eyes… Stupid, stupid eyes. I felt like I was 14 again."

At this, Glinda squirmed uncomfortably. Diner? She hadn't heard about any diners from Fiyero. What was this? Had he been cheating? Glinda was rather understanding with the thought of Fiyero catching feelings for Elphaba while they had been together, but _cheating_? That was a different story. And what was this about feeling 14?

"Elphie, I'm not getting what you're trying to say…" Glinda started slowly, so as not to startle. Elphaba was despondent as she tried to think of how she should word her confession. The pause in the air was suffocating.

She sighed, and swallowed hard. Glinda noticed the tiny tremble of her lips. "I slept with him, Glin. I shouldn't have, but I did."

"W-What?!"

Elphaba exhaled sharply, closing her eyes. She was afraid of what she would see on Glinda's face – she knew that because she does the same thing when she confessed to being the one who stole Boq's desk ornaments because apparently they were obtrusive and his birthday was coming and she didn't know what to get him – so she thought that she could give him his own desk ornaments back to him for his birthday.

"It was last week. I know it's bad. But the thing was—"

"Last week?!"

"— I don't know, he came to my house unexpectedly with vegan pudding and then I made tea and he was being all weird—"

"I can't believe this!"

"— and then he said he was sorry, and that he made a mistake, and he came on to me –"

"HE WHAT?!"

"— and in the back of my head, I think I might've had a fever or something but I thought it had been Fiyero and I panicked and I didn't know what to do—"

At this, Glinda paused.

"W-Wait, wait, Elphie, stop." She reached over and took Elphaba's now flailing hands into her own. "Who. Are. You. Talking. About?"

Elphaba's eyes went wide in confusion. "Thaddeus Huntley. Who did you think I was talking about?"

Glinda felt his mind reel at the name. "Hold on, Thad — you mean Turtle Heart Huntley? The T.A from my architectural class?"

"That's a really offensive name by the way—"

"—you don't get to sass me right now, Elphie." Glinda narrowed her eyes, "You slept with my old T.A? Why?!"

Elpaba sighed. "We used to go out in college."

"When _he_ was in college?"

"What? No!" Elphaba coiled back in disgust. "When _we_ were in college. He was my partner for a good part of our time there. He left before we graduated to pursue a career in the city."

"YOU WERE DATING THE T.A?! You told me that he was just a family friend!"

Elphie flushed at Glinda's explosive reaction. "It's not something that I could go around publicizing – aren't allowed to date students. Ted would've lost his job." She sighed, "And I didn't lie about the family friend thing either. He was Nessa's home tutor for a long time. He's known me since I was 14."

Glinda couldn't hide the discomfort on her face at that piece of information. "Were you two…?"

"At 14?" Elphaba cringed, and Glinda exhaled sharply in relief. "We only started when I got into Shiz. It was still unorthodox though. He's a clean 10 years older than me."

"I'm sorry, Elphie, but this isn't right." Glinda pinched the bridge of her nose. "… And did you say something about Fiyero?"

Elphaba seemed to close up and stiffen at the mention of Fiyero's name, and before Glinda could question her further, the boiler clicked and the water was ready for tea. She shot a look at Elphaba's nearly inaudible sigh of relief, "This isn't over."

Tea was made, Earl Grey for Elphie and Green tea for herself. They made their way into Glinda's living area and drew the curtains. She switched off the tv and sat a little next to Elphaba, who was blowing gingerly into her tea. The popcorn was scooped up from the floor and tossed into the bin - nobody had the stomach for it anymore.

"Elphaba Thropp. You're going to tell me everything. You've been avoiding me all week so you owe me." She said matter-of-factly.

Elphaba made a disapproving noise from the back of her throat, whining like a scolded child, "There's nothing much to tell. I've said all I came here to say."

"You don't get to barge in here in the middle of the night to blabber and rant and drink my tea and not tell me every little detail about the secret boyfriend you had while we were roommates in college!"

"How do you say all that in one breath?"

"I'm a very gifted young lady."

Elphaba scoffed.

"Alright, quit stalling!" Glinda tucked her legs in and shifted to make herself more comfortable. They both knew that it was going to be a long, _long_ night.

* * *

One, two, three.

She placed the brush on her vanity gently when she had finished, her heart was pounding violently against her chest. She glanced around the small apartment that the company had provided for her. A tiny kitchen area – not even big enough for an oven – was right next to her bedroom. The bathroom had all the necessities that a person could possibly need for daily use – a simple shower, a sink, and a ceramic toilet. She did her laundry at the laundromat a block away from her building, and she ate most of her meals in paper plates.

In the time that they had been together, she had never once let him up to her apartment – always insisting that they stay at his. He never mentioned if he minded it, but she could tell that he didn't. He was just happy that she had chosen him.

Of course now, she haven't heard from him in a while, she didn't know why. She saw him sometimes but he always seemed to be busy. Something was bothering him, she knew it.

That night when he had walked her home for the thousandth time, she had felt light, and free and something that seemed to be _happiness_. It was the most frightening thing that she had ever experienced – so just like she had done her entire life, she pretended. She plastered on a cheerful smile and let off a sweet, giggly laugh… And she hid the fact that she had shoved her hands into her pockets not because it was cold, but because her hands were shivering in fear.

She was afraid that she would get caught.

She was afraid that she would start to feel something for him.

She was afraid that he might never recover when he finds out that she wasn't the person that he thought he knew.

A ring startled her and she cursed softly under her breath – she needed to stop being so jumpy. The caller id flashed brightly and she sighed. They were getting impatient and she needed to get herself downtown before they became even angrier.

She stuffed the plastic files into her bag and quickly pulled the thumbdrive from her laptop, not bothering to eject it properly. She glanced into the mirror and checked herself, making sure that everything looked perfect… She popped a button loose from her blouse, allowing her cleavage to show just a little – it was for the job.

She stepped out and the door closed quietly behind her.

The life of a corporate spy isn't as easy as people liked to think.

* * *

"… So, you… he… kissed you… and…"

She nodded stiffly, chewing on her lower lip.

"… and you thought… you thought it was Fiyero… and the entire time…?"

She cringed, and nodded again.

"Wow…" Glinda exhaled dramatically, her blue eyes were widened and her cup of tea had gone completely cold and untouched. "You imagined that he was Fiyero… You _fantasized_ about sleeping with—."

"Can we not?" Elphaba groaned. "I feel absolutely terrible."

"I feel like you've sinned so hard, if I dumped a bucket of water over you, you might just _melt_ from all the dirty things hidden away in your very soul." Glinda smirked, and then laughed heartily, rolling back on the couch.

"I don't think I'll ever be the same again." Elphaba deadpanned. She was confused over Glinda's reaction to her confession – which had been told over several cups of tea and many bathroom breaks as a result of the nervous tea binging. Glinda was taking it much better than she had thought she would.

"So what did you _imagine_ that it felt like? Maybe I can debunk some of them for you." Glinda reached for her tea, took a sip and frowned thinly at the coldness.

Elphaba shuddered, "I would prefer not to discuss this any further, thank you. Especially not with _you_."

"But I'm your bestfriend! Who _else_ are you going to gossip about this with? It's even better because I used to date him so we'll get to swap stories!"

"W-we're swapping nothing!"

"Oh, don't be such a prude, Elphie." Glinda laughed.

Elphaba squirmed, and it only made the blonde laugh harder. By the time the ladies were finished with their banter and cold tea, it was already 1am in the morning. Elphaba had only known how late it was when Glinda had begun to rest her head on the edge of her couch.

"You look like you should head to bed." Elphaba said, not feeling particularly sleepy. "I'll clean up."

The blonde grinned, satisfied that she didn't need to do the dishes. "Your room is still the same as you've left it."

"Hm. I haven't slept over in a while." Elphaba mused as she begun to pick up the cups and headed to the kitchenette.

Glinda followed behind, folding her arms across her chest as she leaned her hip against the edge of the counter, "You _are_ going to tell him… right?"

She stopped her washing midway and turned to Glinda, her heart suddenly clutching. "Tell him what?" she managed to croak out.

Glinda was having none of it. "Tell him that you're interested in him? Because, y'know, you fantasized about him?"

Elphaba flushed deeply at Glinda's words and turned away quickly, returning to the washing, "Nobody is telling him anything."

Glinda was quiet for a while, and Elphaba was suddenly worried. Had she been too harsh with her tone? Did she say something wrong? She was too flustered to turn around to face her.

"You admit it though? That you like him?"

Elphaba refused to answer, and chose to finish up with the cups, placing them on the drying rack and wiping her hands dry with a dish towel. Glinda sighed.

"I know you." She said, "So I'll say it out for you – You have feelings for Fiyero... Just sort it out quickly, alright? This whole Turtle Heart situation just smells like trouble."

At this, Elphaba turned around, noticing the seriousness in Glinda's posture.

"And Fiyero won't know that he'd got a chance unless you give him a little push. Men are – and forever will be – idiots."

Elphaba exhaled sharply, the fatigue finally showing itself. Glinda pulled her lips into a sympathetic smile and reached over for her tight hug. She kissed her cheek and pulled away, "I'm tired. You should get to bed too. We'll head out for breakfast tomorrow. G'night, Elphie."

Glinda shuffled out, and headed to her bedroom, closing the door behind gingerly. Elphaba yawned and did the same, turning off all the lights and made her way into her room. She slipped out of her clothes and put on some of her old college tshirts that she had left behind when she had last stayed over. Normalcy had eluded her for a while, so she had been immensely grateful for Glinda leaving her room as it were. The familiarity was comforting.

When she had dressed, Elphaba knew that Glinda would've been asleep by now, and she envied her. She laid in bed, and pulled the covers to her chin. The lights were turned off and the room was silent... In the darkness and solidarity, she could only think of how much she missed the sight of forest green eyes – and how the sound of his voice seemed to echo in the crevices of her mind.

* * *

 **A/N** There's a great lack of Fiyero in this chapter, but things were revealed and the Flinda has finally ended! The snow is thickening, and Lurlinemas is coming ;)  
It's a couple of days to February 14th, hope you guys are having a good one this year. San Francisco smells like fresh flowers every time VDay comes around.

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - His presence definitely has a particular effect on her... Aaaand it's probably not going to get any easier for Fiyeraba now that he's wormed his way back into Elphaba's life :P

guest - Short. Efficient. I like it. Ha! Thanks :)

nonnybitch - The Flinda is finally over! And thanks for the support. It's always more fun to geek out with other people than to be alone, mumbling to myself about Wicked. Lol!

Mother yackel - He's not exactly a very... good, person. He's not _terrible_ , but it's pretty easy to see that he's not good. And lol! I will survive! Don't you worry, Fiyeraba is just a step closer to gracing our pages, now that Flinda has finally run its course ;)

Just Me - Turtle Heart had a way with baby Elphie in the books, I just kind of skewed it in this story :P And ask and you shall receive! Flinda is done and we're this much closer to Fiyeraba!


	16. Chapter 16

**16.**

"We should do something next weekend." Crope shouted over the sound of the tv blasting ice hockey commentary in the apartment. He was lying on the couch, trying to toss popcorn into his mouth. Many had missed, and the floor and couch had become the victims to his game.

Fiyero, who was similarly disposed on the armchair, scratched an itch on his jawline, "Weekend?"

"Y'know. Lurlinemas Eve?" Crope shrugged, allowing several pieces of popcorn to fall from his chest, "You should host a thing."

"We've got that Lurlinemas party in the office." Fiyero pointed out. On tv, one of the reds made an illegal body-check on the blues and sent him ramming into the wall – the puck that had yet to reach him slid across the rink. "WIZARD'S BALLS. DIDN'T THE REF SEE THAT?!"

"Ouhhh! Tough luck." Crope chortled.

Fiyero made a rude gesture at his friend, but it only led to more laughter.

"Anyway, the office thing doesn't count. Lurlinemas is supposed to be a family and friends thing. As much as I _love_ my job and my co-workers, I want my own Lurlinemas shindig. And since my newly rented apartment is narrow as an anorexic's crack – and my old place is still being haunted by my ex – you're gonna have to surrogate."

Fiyero grumbled, shifting slightly from his seat, "I know how to attend parties. I don't know how to host one."

"You're hopeless." Crope rolled his eyes, "I can set the whole thing up, as long as you're okay with opening up your place."

"Can we have calzones?"

"What?"

"For the party. Can we have calzones?"

Crope raised a brow, "I didn't know you were into Munchkinlander food."

"Just the calzones, really." Fiyero shrugged.

"Alright fine." Crope sighed, resigned. "I assume that Glinda won't be invited?"

Fiyero furrowed his brows, "What? Why not?"

"Aren't you two broken up?"

The vinkun sat up now, and turned down the volume on the tv. "Yeah, but we're still friends."

"You're really doing that?" Crope pulled and shifted to a more upright position, "I just thought you guys were just saying that. Isn't that how that works? Say that you'll still be friends, and 1 week later, you become complete strangers?"

Fiyero reached over to the coffee table and grabbed his half empty can of beer, "It's different this time. I care about this girl. Just not in a _romantical_ kind of way."

"Romantical." Crope snorted.

"What about you? Are we going to talk about Tibbett at all?"

At this, Crope frowned. "The P.I got back to me the other day. He says that he might be on to something but he wanted to make sure before he told me anything… I don't like it."

"My guy knows what he's doing." Fiyero assured. "And Tibbett's going to be fine. I know that look on your face. Have a beer, watch some hockey." He turned the volume up on the tv again before Crope could say anything.

…

Tibbett would be fine.

He had to be.

* * *

For a denizen of the Emerald City, winter time is both a blessing and a curse.

The cold is often harsh, even more so than the Gillikin County although not as bad as the Glikkun regions. Blizzards were a plenty and many businesses – including the offices in the city center – were often forced to close down for a couple of days throughout the winter months.

But even with the terrible weather, the downtime gave people the chance to stay in and be with their loved ones – something that a true Emerald City denizen would often lack the opportunity to ravel in. Children loved the snow days. Snow meant frozen lakes, and frozen lakes meant ice-skating. Grandparents gathered by their fireplaces, telling stories and drinking warm tea.

For Fiyero Tiggular, snow days in the Emerald City meant that his people were let off early to go home and be with their families, while he stayed in his office and finished up on paperwork.

The finance floor of the Arjiki Tradings building was all but desolate by 3pm. His assistant, Bryan, had already headed out a couple of hours ago. There were very little traffic in the building, and even Baldr had taken off early. The few souls who had stayed behind were mostly the paperwork junkies who needed to finish faxing documents, printing charts or indexing proposals.

By the time he had finished his 20th email reply of the day, Fiyero could no longer bear the silence. There was not a peep that came from the bullpen outside, and it unsettled him. He was used to the sound of hurried typing and ringing of unanswered desk phones. Now it was just quiet.

Being completely alone was one of his deepest fears, and as his heart thumped loudly against his ears, his eyes drifted out his window, across the streets.

It was easy to spot the green woman sitting at her desk, staring intently at a ridiculously thick file. She was too far away for him to really see the expressions of her face, but just the sight of her gave him relief.

He wanted to get her attention.

Needed, really.

He turned back to his computer and double clicked on the email client. He copy pasted a picture of a tubby orange cat looking very surprised at the sight of a cheeseburger into the email and sent it to her. Immediately, he swivelled his chair to allow him to face the Thropp building and chewed his lower lip in anticipation and childish glee.

It took a little while, but he saw that her attention was called to her computer. She placed the file to rest on her desk and turned to her screen. A few seconds later, she seemed to type something and then she was back to her file again.

To say that he was disappointed by her lack of reaction would be an understatement.

A few seconds later, his desktop pinged.

He turned to his screen and jiggled his mouse, bringing the monitor back to life. The email client was left open, and the first thing he saw was the reply, tagged with a bright yellow label, and sitting on the very top of his inbox.

His eyes flicked to the name of the sender and he found his lips pulling into a smile. He clicked on the mail, and saw that there was only one line to the reply.

" _Go Away._ "

Fiyero chuckled, and turned to the window, trying to see what she might be doing now – the rest of the Thropp Building seemed to be just as empty as Arjiki Tradings today. The sky was grey with thick, looming clouds. The news had declared that another blizzard might blow through the city tonight and that everyone should head home early.

Elphaba was stretching, her back arcing and her arms extending. He grabbed his phone from his desk and sent her a message, his hands working faster than his brain could process what he was doing.

 _Sent 3.14pm  
FiyeroT: Meet me for coffee?_

 _Sent 3.14pm  
FiyeroT: You look like you could use some._

It took only a second or two for the message to reach her phone, but to Fiyero it felt like forever. Just sitting there, alone in his office, staring out his window like a creeper. She picked up her phone and stared at it for a little while, and when she kept glancing out her window, he knew that she had received it.

He stood up and walked to the window, and when she was glancing at her again, he waved – grinning. She shook her head and typed something into her phone.

 _Received 3.16pm  
ElphabaT: Don't you have better things to do?_

 _Sent 3.17pm  
FiyeroT: Not really, no._

 _Received 3.17pm  
ElphabaT: Well, I do. I have paperwork to look through. Leave me be._

 _Sent 3.17pm  
FiyeroT: This is why you should have coffee!_

 _Received 3.17pm  
ElphabaT: I have a pantry in my office. I don't need to head out if I wanted coffee._

 _Sent 3.18pm  
FiyeroT: I'm just a lowly CFO. I don't get my own pantry :(_

 _Received 3.19pm  
ElphabaT: …_

 _Received 3.19pm  
ElphabaT: You know that's not what I meant._

 _Sent 3.20pm  
FiyeroT: I'll meet you at Old-Hen's in 10._

 _Sent 3.20pm  
FiyeroT: ;)_

 _Received 3.21pm  
ElphabaT: What on earth_

* * *

"I didn't agree to this."

Fiyero grinned widely as he watched Elphaba meander her way across the café and plop herself on the seat directly opposite to his. A scowl was etched onto her face and for some reason, he found it immensely amusing.

He nudged the cup of coffee towards her and noticed the slight raise of her brow.

"Americano." He said, pleased with himself for remembering her drink of choice. "They were out of the pink stuff I got you the other day."

"Thank Oz," She snorted and took the drink appreciatively, taking a sip and sighing in pleasure. He took his own drink and allowed himself to linger for just a bit, using the cup as a cover for him to observe her.

She looked tired, in a sleepless kind of way. Her eyes looked like they were under a cover of shadows, and her shoulders were hunched in a way that he had often seen on Baldr when things were going south with his work.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked defensively, looking a little uncomfortable.

Fiyero shook his head and leaned back on his chair, "Nothing. Just observing. You look tired."

"Adults have to work." She quipped with the tiniest of smirks gracing her lips.

Fiyero pretended to be hurt by the comment, and placed a hand on his chest, "You wound me." He shook his head sadly, but he couldn't help the pull on the corner of his lips. "Anyway… I'm sure you've heard about me and Glinda."

Elphaba nodded slowly, "She texted me an hour after the break-up."

His eyes were wide at that new piece of information, but it was quickly shaken off. "Right. Of course she did."

"Don't look so surprised." She laughed.

"The funny thing is, I'm really not." He chuckled, pulling his chair closer to the table and tucking his arms to his chest. "We're still friends though."

"Yes, she mentioned that." Elphaba took a sip from her coffee, "How's that working out for you?"

"We're better friends than lovers." He admitted, and his eyes lingered on a tiny freckle on her nose. "Hey, have you always had that?" His hand reached over without him willing it, and Elphaba drew back, stunned.

Fiyero felt his chest constrict upon realizing what it might've looked like. "Sorry – uh. Great freckle." His face was engulfed in a burning heat, and he knew that he was blushing furiously. Elphaba seemed to be just as embarrassed as him, and her own cheeks were darkened.

"R-Right. Of course." She stammered, and she looked like she was fighting every fibre of her being to not just bolt out of the door right now. "Uh. Maybe we should—"

"—No!" He was taken aback at how terrified he sounded – that want and need for her to stay with him. "Uh, I mean – We just got here. Just forget that happened, please. I think maybe after this Glinda thing, I'm still a little weird."

Elphaba looked at him strangely, but decided against commenting on that. "… You were weird even before Glinda dumped you."

"Oi. Mutual break-up!"

"If you say so." She smiled wickedly, and he found himself laughing again.

They were quiet for a little while, and he noticed that it had begun to snow outside. A little heavier than usual, but nothing to cause a ruckus about.

"What about you? Any new romances recently?" He asked boldly. To be absolutely truthful, he was a little scared of what she might say. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears – so loudly that he thought that she might be able to hear it too.

"Why would _you_ want to know?" She sipped from her coffee.

Fiyero pretended to be nonchalant. "Just making conversation." He croaked, watching for her reaction. She seemed unconvinced, but again, chose not to comment.

"Nothing new." She said after a beat, and he felt his heart relax just a little bit. Although he could tell from the look on her face that there was more.

"I bumped into my old college boyfriend a little while ago though. Somehow, he managed to worm his way back into my life."

Fiyero felt his heart drop.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting. He'd known that Elphaba had partners before – the elusive T.H being one of them – but to hear about them from her directly was a dull ache that he had not prepared himself for.

"… Are you two…?"

Elphaba scoffed, which he took to be a good sign. "He's up to something. I know him well enough to know that he didn't just ' _happen_ ' to be at the diner that day. We lived and worked in the same city for almost 3 years, and he chose _now_ to appear."

"Diner? 3 years? What are you talking about?" Fiyero furrowed his brows, and cleared his throat awkwardly, "N-Not that I care, of course. Only if you'd like to share."

Elphaba looked at him strangely, and finally exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "Forget that I said anything." She finished up with her coffee, and glanced towards him. "You planning to drink at that all, or were you just buying coffees to warm your hands?"

He blinked blankly at her, and it was only now that Fiyero realized that his coffee had gone cold.

"Don't think I can stomach that." He stuck his tongue out, and flinched. "Wow, it's cold, even in here… Anyway, you're saying that you don't like this guy, right?" He probed lightly, feigning nonchalance, "He sounds like a douche."

"Yeah, no." Elphaba raise a brow at him with a look of amusement, not really answering him. Her eyes flicked to the window and suddenly her amusement turned to concern. "Look at that… It's turning into a storm."

Fiyero glanced out. The traffic in the streets were minimal by now and it was clear to see that the heavy snow from before – combined with winds that were picking up – was turning out to create a fluffy, white, frozen nightmare.

"Huh. We should probably get out of here before the streets are closed." He said seriously. "Who knows how long this one's gonna stay."

Elphaba nodded wordlessly and picked up her coat.

"Do you have anything else you have to pick up in your office?" He asked as he ushered her out of the café – the baristas were hustling about the store, cleaning up and preparing to close for the day. "I had my car refitted for the winter road, so it would be safer if you rode with me."

Elphaba frowned slightly. "I'd rather not—"

"— Come on, it'll be fun. Plus you'll save on gas money." He insisted with a smirk, pulling his coat to his body. His nose was already pink in the cold. "This way, my car's in the lot." He placed a hand on Elphaba's lower back, and instantaneously felt his exposed fingers becoming numb, but the thought of pulling himself away from her right now was even more unpleasant than the thought of getting frostbite.

"Are you wearing gloves?" Elphaba furrowed her brows at him as they walked across the half-empty streets.

"Sure I am." He replied quickly.

She took his arm and saw that his hand was bare. "You're going to get your fingers frostbitten!" She nearly shouted, and quickly attempted to shove his hands back into his coat pocket. Their closeness had already begun to warm his chest.

"What? No! We can't get separated in this weather!"

"We're two adults walking down a half empty street!"

"Yeah? Well, I'm cold! I need you for warmth!"

"W-What?!"

Fiyero flushed deeply at what had come out of his mouth. He only hoped that Elphaba had accredited the redness of his cheeks to the cold.

"We're here, come on." He grabbed Elphaba by the waist and pulled her into the building first. The security guards by the front desk were staring at the two of them as if they had seen a ghost.

"Mister Tiggular…?" One of them approached cautiously, his eyes darting towards Elphaba. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine." Fiyero waved dismissively.

The security guards nodded and returned to their posts, but their eyes were still on the two of them, curious. It was obvious that they knew who he was, but it was even more obvious that they knew who _she_ was. It wasn't every day that the CEO of Thropp Co. came stumbling into the ground floor lobby of the Arjiki Tradings offices – especially not with their CFO and second son to the chairman.

"I don't think I've got anything I'll miss in my office," He said, his fingers hooking on his car keys in his pocket, "Alright, this way please."

* * *

The inside of Fiyero's car was a lot cleaner and neater than she had initially assumed.

There were very little personal artefacts about the area except for the silver scarecrow pendant that was hung around the rear-view mirror. When the car was started up, the radio had immediately sprung to life. Soft, folksy music played from the speakers.

Elphaba cocked a brow at Fiyero. "I hadn't pegged you as a folk music person."

He drew a smile as his hands busied themselves with turning the heat up in his car. "Folk speaks from the heart. It's the most down to earth genre in music – which is the complete opposite to me – so it keeps me balanced."

"Nice to know that you're at least still self-aware." She quipped amusedly.

"Trust me. I am _very_ self-aware. That's how I know that I'm so loved by the masses." He grinned boyishly while Elphaba snorted. He switched on his GPS and locking his seatbelt in. "I assume that you'll be headed home?"

"I think I should stay over with Glinda for a while." She said. "I don't like the idea of leaving her alone in this blizzard."

"Sounds good." He nodded absentmindedly as he pulled the car out of his spot and began to navigate out of the underground carpark.

It was such a strange sight to see Fiyero in a more mature light. He was focussed as he drove – both hands on the wheel, but relaxed and sure. He was patient with the decreased visibility of the streets, and seemed to genuinely know what he was doing and where he was going. It was nice to see that he really wasn't the man-child that he had always presented himself to be.

The car rode with a low purr and from what she could tell, it seemed to drive very smoothly as well. Granted, her own car wasn't exactly a cheap one, but Fiyero certainly rode around in an impressive machine.

Around them, the city streets were barren of human traffic. People who were unlucky enough to be stuck outside were scurrying away, and there were very few cars that were still on the road. She had hardly had the chance to see the Emerald City with this little vehicles driving around, it was almost scary.

"Can you see that?" Fiyero asked suddenly, and Elphaba sat up. She squinted, attempting to see what was in front of them. They were waiting on a traffic light and from what she could see, they were only a few more blocks away from turning into the Diamond District. The road ahead of them was covered in a layer of snow, and the markings on the surface were getting harder and harder to see.

"Slow down." She said, noticing the road block ahead. A red sign was plucked in the middle of the road and several men in bright yellow vests and heavy winter coats were waving blinking batons at them. The road was closed and they'd have to find another way around.

"Damn it." He huffed, turning to the side of the road. One of the men came up to them and Fiyero wound down the window. The opening allowed the cold to creep in, and Elphaba felt a shiver run down her spine.

"This entire stretch is closed. The snow got too thick!" The man yelled over the howling of the winds. "Where are ya headed?"

"We're heading into the Diamond District!"

"Well, you kids are outta luck. Most of the roads going into the District and beyond are closed off." The man waved an arm in the general direction of their destination as if to emphasize his point.

" _All_ of the roads leading into Diamond District are closed off?!" Elphaba furrowed her brows and scowled. "How is that possible?"

The man tilted his head to see past Fiyero and peered, as if he hadn't really seen Elphaba initially. "You could take the long route and circle around and try your luck on the other side of town, or you could find somewhere else to hunker down for a couple of hours. Either way, you ain't enterin' by this road."

"Oz damn it." Fiyero cursed softly under his breath, and shook his head. The man tapped the roof of his car, signalling him to move on, and walked back to his post. He rolled up his window and turned to Elphaba.

"What's our plan?" He asked dejectedly.

Elphaba sighed heavily and shrugged. "I can't exactly go home." Her head had begun to pound at the idea of being stuck in the blizzard. Her contempt for the cold had grown thrice fold, and she began to feel her nerves fraying.

"Right. You live in the Diamond District too, huh." He mumbled, scratching his jaw. "Well. If we're lucky, the road to my place should be open. I've got some leftover dinners if we get hungry."

"Your place?" She felt her words stick to her throat.

"Yeah. It's the only thing that makes sense right now to be honest. It's going to get dark soon." He said as he reversed the car and turned away from the side of the street. The snow crunched sloppily against the wheels and Elphaba began to worry that they might get stalled in the middle of the road before they could reach somewhere safe.

"You look… Worried." He commented with a raised brow.

Elphaba glanced over to him and noticed again how different he seemed to look in this light. His car was spacious enough that they didn't actually touch, but they were still close enough that made her hyperaware of every little movement he made.

"Do you think we'll make it?" She asked forcefully, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice. Her plan had only been to head to Glinda's and have some microwaved dinners, and maybe read a good book before bed.

Now she was stuck in Fiyero's car – which happens to be headed towards his apartment where she would most probably spend the night – and she would have to deal with her body's increasingly inappropriate reaction to his presence and touch.

Fiyero glanced at her, "I think so… Are you okay?" He turned to her, concern written across his face. This only made her chest feel all constricted and her face began to warm up.

"I'll be fine. Keep your eyes on the road please."

His brows shot up, and he laughed – turning his attention back to the road. "You know, it's okay to let someone care about you once in a while."

"What would _you_ know?" She frowned, her tone was a little sharper than she had intended. The blizzard wasn't letting up, and the song that was playing on his stereo right now – a romantic folk song that would fit very well in an artsy film – was not helping the situation at all.

The screen wipers on his car was barely keeping the snow away, and she could feel her anxiety begin to build. The idea of being in such close proximity with Fiyero for an extended amount of time – especially after what had happened not too long ago with Thaddeus – it drove her crazy.

"There's no need to be so confrontational." He replied with slightly raised brows, a small frown began to occupy his lips. "What do you mean, anyway? What would I know about what?"

"Letting people care." She explained in a low voice. "You do this thing, where you hide behind a persona. You pretend to be dumber than you really are, and you're always flaunting your good looks to give people the impression that you're shallow—"

"You really think that I'm good looking?"

She shot him a look, and realized that he wasn't trying to be obnoxious. There was a hint of a blush on his cheeks and he looked like he was trying to supress a smile. Elphaba didn't know how she should be reacting to this. Her own cheeks began to flush.

"Is that what you want to focus on? Really?"

He laughed. "Right. Sorry. Of course I'm good looking. I'm gorgeous, really." They turned a corner and Fiyero's GPS beeped – indicating that they were closing in to their destination. Elphaba rolled her eyes at him and he laughed again.

"I _am_ shallow though, deeply so. There is no pretence here. The only thing I care about is my reputation." He added with a dry cough. "I like to think of myself as a sexy, corporate Flynn Ryder."

"Flynn Ryder, the character from the children's book?"

"The super charming, super lovable, totally kickass Flynn Ryder who – yes – happens to be a character from a children's book."

Elphaba scoffed in an attempt to hide her amusement. "Shallow people don't care as much as you do." She said, allowing a triumphant smile to grace her lips. "You didn't have to befriend me, but you cared enough about Glinda that you would put in the effort to spend time with me. And you spent the entire time doing things that I wanted to do."

Fiyero was quiet for a while, and she noticed that he was glancing in her direction as if he were trying to process what she had said to him. She watched the expression change on his face and he struggled to keep his eyes on the road. He clenched his jaw repeatedly, as if he was trying to say something but could not find the words.

Finally, she seemed to hear a mutter.

"Did you say something?"

He glanced at her, and then back to the road, turning down to what seemed like the basement parking lot to an apartment building. The only sound that penetrated the heavy air between them was of guitar strumming and soulful singing coming from the speakers. The car turned into a reserved lot and Fiyero killed the engine, the song dying with it.

"Are you upset?" She asked.

His face was stoic as he turned to her, and her heart sped up unwillingly. The sort of emotional hold he has over her was unbecoming, but she couldn't help it. He stared at her for a while, and something seemed to overwhelm him as he cleared his throat and shook his head – there was something different with the way he was looking at her.

"No." He said finally. "I'm not upset."

"Did I say something wrong?"

"… Not exactly."

* * *

He was lucky that he had cleaned up his apartment somewhat previously. The thought of letting Elphaba into his house when it was littered with beer cans and clothes lying around felt like a scenario straight out of his nightmares.

She plucked her boots off her feet and hung her coat on the back of his arm chair in the living area. Again, the air between them was heavy. He knew that she thought that he was upset with her, and he really wasn't, but the alternative reason to his behaviour didn't feel like a very appropriate thing to say to her. Especially when he was to bring her up to his apartment, and possibly letting her stay overnight.

He recalled the last thing that he had said to her.

"… _Not Exactly"_

He couldn't possibly tell her that the reason why he had been so eager to take her out was because deep down, even back then, he had already begun to find himself drifting towards her. He fronted it with the excuse that he needed to get along with his girlfriend's best friend, but in the back of his head – especially now – he knew the truth.

"You're cleaner than I thought you'd be." She remarked, observing his living space. Suddenly, he felt naked and unprepared. He wondered what she thought of him – and what she might think of the real him.

"I try." He said, turning on the tv but leaving the sound muted. "I thought about putting up naked portraits of myself all around the apartment but my interior designer said nah." He winked at her.

Elphaba scoffed, and chose not to verbally acknowledge that. "It's like your car." She commented as she sat on the couch, her hands getting a feel of the expensive material. "You don't keep many personal artefacts around."

Fiyero paused, and looked at her with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she smiled wistfully, not really looking at him. "You're very disconnected from your material possessions, even if you don't really notice it yourself."

"Hm." He raised a brow at her, and he found himself smiling – it was nice to have someone observe this about him. Something that even he wouldn't have known about himself. It was as if she were really seeing him, and this was both terrifying and amazing. He didn't know if it was a good thing, but he certainly felt _something_.

It was the first time somebody – aside from Tibbett and Crope – had thought that there was more to him apart from his riches and appearance.

"It's not a bad thing." She continued, her eyes locking with his – and he wondered if she knew the effect she had on him, "I've toyed with the idea of you being a more complicated person than you like to portray yourself to be." She turned away and glanced at the tv with a small flush to her cheeks, "I still think that you're a complete narcissist… but you're not all that terrible."

Fiyero found himself staring at her with a corner of his lips up-turning, and he wondered if the fluttering in his stomach had been what people called _swooning_.

* * *

 **A/N** Have you guys experienced a blizzard before? I was stuck in one once about two years ago in New York and it was terrifying. Spent my winters in the west coast ever since. In any case, it looks like Elphaba would be staying over at Fiyero's ;) At least until the snow dies down.  
There may be more swooning. Who knows. Elphaba is such a stud. Ha!

Just Me - Congrats on getting it right! The hints were dropping all over the place, if you read the chapters again lol Hope this chapter sits well with you!

aramenunicorn - LOL IKR.

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - I've written their confession scene quite recently and it's pretty fun how the truth comes out :P And lol! I can attest to Glinda's opinion, being a dude myself Hahaha! Fiyeraba is on its way, and once the snow clears and the next Financial Year begins in the spring, it's going to get busy in the office ;)

Guest - Awesome! :P

Mother yackel - Lol! She weighed the pros and cons. The relationship really became more of a major downer for her than something that was making her happy. :P And yes, Fiyero really needs to get rid of TurtleHeart Hahaha! Ex-boyfriend from hell, that's awesome lol! That thing about Milla would become clearer in future chapters ;)


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N It's a long one. ;)**

* * *

 **17.**

"Never have I ever… Uhm…"

"You're taking _forever—_ "

"—only because you keep interrupting me! Just give me a second!"

Elphaba cackled as she plucked the bowl of popcorn from Fiyero's lap. He shot her a mock-glare, and it only made her smile wickedly at him.

They were sitting on the carpeted floor of Fiyero's apartment, passing around a bottle of sparkling lime juice – because she refused to let him have wine – and a sharing a bowl of popcorn. The snow hadn't let up much and Elphaba had ended up being forced to stay over. She had taken a shower a little while ago and her hair was still slightly damp. She felt rather ridiculous wearing Fiyero's baggy sweatpants and a too-big grey tee with his boarding school emblem printed on it.

He was seated across from her, dressed in a loose Henley shirt and black sweats.

"Alright, I've got one." He smirked confidently at her with a twinkle in his eyes, "Never have I ever had sex missionary style."

"You can't possibly say that you've _never_ done it… well… _missionary_." Elphaba stared at him incredulously as she tossed a piece of popcorn at him. Fiyero was unfazed however, and he'd somehow caught the popcorn in his mouth.

"You gotta drink!" He gloated, and passed her the nearly empty bottle. She took it from him with a glare and finished it off – shaking the empty bottle in victory. Elphaba felt her tongue go numb at the taste of the sour lemon juice, and wondered briefly if it had been such a good idea to have drank so much of it in the last few hours.

Fiyero laughed and she could see the redness on his cheeks and ears. She didn't quite know why but seeing him having so much fun, especially when it was because of _her_ of all people, well – it made her feel oddly happy.

"Seriously, you can't _not_ have done it missionary." She yelled after him as he got up and ran into his kitchen to grab a glass of water for the both of them.

She could hear him hollering back. "I'm being completely and absolutely honest! I've probably done it a hundred different ways and angles, but never vanilla." He laughed. There was the sound of cabinets opening and the gentle _clink_ of glasses knocking into each other. "Sparkling is good, right?" He shouted. "I can't have you drinking tap water in my house."

"Sure?" She replied, equally loudly.

In a matter of seconds, he was back. He had already taken a sip from his glass it seems, and he passed the fuller glass over to Elphaba. She took it from him but did not drink, flushing slightly as he plunked down right next to her – their shoulders touched and it was the first time she had felt the hardness of his biceps poking at her.

"This is nice, right?" He asked, his voice gravelly. He stretched his legs out and she only now realized how long his legs actually were. She stretched hers out as well to compare and saw that hers were only a little bit shorter. He chuckled, "You're pretty tall for a girl."

She turned to him and raised a brow. "I'm also pretty green for a girl."

"Nobody cares about the green after hanging out with you for a little while." Fiyero huffed. He pulled the sleeves of his Henley to his elbow, and with his other hand, took Elphaba's arm and compared it to his now exposed forearm. "See? We're not so different."

She couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips and the smile that followed as she watched Fiyero lift their arms to the light.

"In certain lighting, I'm pretty green too." He commented matter-of-factly.

Elphaba raised a brow at him, and fought the urge hug him. He was being ridiculous, but at the same time, annoyingly sweet and very, _very_ Fiyero-like. It was just so like him to be such a smooth-talking, easy going – and as much as she'd hate to say it – lovable idiot.

"Maybe we're related." She deadpanned.

Fiyero groaned. "I hope not."

Ouch.

She made a little noise and took a sip from her glass. Fiyero nudged her and she looked at him. He was staring at her in a way that she couldn't quite explain, and she felt her chest thumping loudly against her ears.

"What?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, just… Maybe we should go to bed. It's getting pretty late, and since we didn't get much to eat tonight, we're gonna want to wake up early for breakfast."

"… Sure."

She watched him pull himself up and offer a hand for her, very gentleman-like.

"M'Lady." He bowed slightly. She could tell from the small vibrations of his body that he was attempting to supress his laughing. Curiously, she took his hand – which was warm and a little oily from the popcorn – and allowed herself to be helped up.

Her body seemed to forget how balance and gravity worked – and the little prickling feeling on her legs from sitting down too long didn't help either – and when Fiyero pulled her up, she found herself fumbling and lunging towards his chest.

"Whoa there!" He held her close, and immediately, Elphaba felt her heart begin to pounding heavily. His arms were around her, and if she hadn't known better, it certainly felt like an embrace. What was strange was how _loud_ her heart beat seemed to be… It almost sounded like it was coming from Fiyero's chest instead of hers.

Her hands slid up his body in an attempt to push him away, and Elphaba flushed deeply at the feeling of his hardened physique and wondered if this was appropriate at all. A part of her certainly didn't mind it, but the other part of her brain was reminding her that her relationship with Fiyero _had_ to be a strictly platonic one.

She managed to find her balance again and gently pushed at Fiyero's sturdy chest with her head facing away – too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

"Uhm," she cleared her throat, "thanks."

"Right. Sure. I, uh, I'll clean up later – Let me show you to your room."

Fiyero led her down the short corridor. Minimalist pictures hung along the walls, none of which had actual people inside and all of them were black and white. Six sets of doors could be found along the hall. Elphaba assumed that one of it would be Fiyero's bedroom, and another – the guestroom.

He opened the door for her, and she found herself looking into a large, neatly kept room with a soft, very comfortable looking double bed leaning against the wall. There was dresser that had minimalist photographs on top of it, and a couple of house plants that she assumed were fake – knowing the type of person Fiyero was.

"There should be some guest supplies in the bathroom. Y'know, disposable toothbrushes and fresh towels etcetera. If there's anything else you need, just hop over to my room. I'll keep it unlocked."

Elphaba flushed. "You don't have to do that."

"It's cool." He shrugged – and she noticed the muscles on his shoulders rolling smoothly against the fabric of his shirt. "Just give it a knock, or you might find me with my laptop on and my hands in my pants."

He smirked and winked at her as she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Why do I feel like even if I knocked, I'll still find your hands in your pants?"

"Ohhh. Very nice comeback. I'll let you have that." He grinned widely as he leaned against the frame of the door.

Elphaba raised a brow at him, feeling her lips pull into a small smile. Her mind, however, was a raging storm of mixed feelings and confused thoughts.

* * *

Fiyero felt pretty good about himself last night.

He had a surprisingly awesome time playing 'Never have I ever' with Elphaba, even though they were playing it with sparkling lime juice instead of alcohol, and in the process – he'd learnt a lot about her. He learnt that she had never dated anyone younger than her (so T.H was _older_ ) and he had also learnt that she had – at one point in her life – been attracted to someone who she thought was a man but was really instead a woman.

The morning came around, and Fiyero had found himself scurrying around his kitchen, trying to figure out how to make a vegan breakfast for Elphaba, only to realize that he had only meats and cheese in his fridge.

"Good morning."

He spun around with a large, packed, ham in his hand – coming face to face with a bemused green woman. "Morning..." he noticed her eyes drifting towards the ham. "It's not what it looks like."

She pressed her lips together as if to prevent herself from laughing, and walked towards the counter, leaning. "We could get delivery, y'know."

"And we should." He tossed the ham back into his fridge and lunged for his phone that sat next to his coffee machine. "What are you hungry for? Pancakes? Eggs? Oh! I know a great place that does delicious egg benedicts."

"Are you always this chirpy in the morning?" Elphaba asked with a small smile, and he wondered if she even knew she was doing that.

"Never, really." He admitted as he searched for the number of the restaurant. "Only when I have guests. It's something that's ingrained in my brain." On Elphaba's curious look, he explained. "As a kid, my father left me alone mostly and I was never really disciplined—"

Elphaba made a tiny noise meant to condescend, and he narrowed his eyes at her mock-seriously.

"—anyway. He rarely disciplined me because he spent most of his time whipping Baldr into shape. I was only ever needed when guests arrived and he needed to show off his three boys."

"Three boys?"

Fiyero nodded, "I have a younger brother, still in the Vinkus. Boarding school had been hard on him and I convinced father to let the boy receive home-schooling, at least until he was 18."

"Are you close to him?"

"He's closer to me than he is to Baldr, that's for sure. The age gap is surmountable." Fiyero shrugged slightly as he worked on his phone. "I haven't seen him in a while… Hey could you pass that piece of paper to me?"

Elphaba reached over the length of the counter, her shirt riding up somewhat, and he marvelled briefly at her smooth green skin. "Is there a reason why?" She asked as she handed him the paper and the shirt covered her up again.

"I'm not exactly a particularly good influence – or so Baldr and daddy dearest says." Fiyero commented dismissively. "But I guess I've had every chance to go down there to visit him on my own anyway."

He quickly typed in the number that was scribbled on the paper on his phone and called the restaurant. As he went ahead with ordering their breakfast, he glanced up at Elphaba and noticed the strange look she was giving him.

"Yes, that's right. Thank you." He ended the call and shot her a raised brow and a lopsided smile. "You're looking at me weird. Is something wrong, or are you just finally falling in love with my ridiculously handsome face?"

At this, she rolled her eyes dramatically, and Fiyero laughed – although in the crevices of his mind, he found himself clinging on to every little fleeting hope that she might do just that.

* * *

They sat on the floor, cross-legged, eating their breakfast on the coffee table. The tv had been muted but a re-run of last weekend's seasonal hockey game was on.

"Tell me that's not the best damn Quoxian breakfast you've ever tasted – I double dare you."

Elphaba snorted as she struggled to keep a smile from showing on her face. "Don't you have to _single_ dare me before you double dare?"

"I'm just that confident." He grinned, and she could see the scrambled eggs behind his perfectly straight pearly whites.

"Charming." She deadpanned.

"Tell me about it." He winked and swallowed, "No really. I'd love for you to tell me how charming you think I am."

"Grinning with eggs in your mouth? _So very much_."

"I know right? Works with the ladies every time. You should see me smile when I have sunny side ups in my mouth."

She laughed at that, unable to keep it in any longer – the imagery that had popped up in her brain had helped. He really was annoyingly charming, even with food in his mouth – she liked him. Oh, this wasn't supposed to happen, but it _is_ happening and there's nothing she could do.

"The trick is to shove the whole thing in and break the yolk in your mouth." He remarked cheekily as he cut off a piece of sausage and plucked it into his mouth, smiling as he chewed.

"And let the yolk dribble down your chin?"

"Of course, that's the best part. Ladies love that. It shows that you're no afraid to get a little sticky and a little messy." Fiyero wriggled with brows at her and she balled up her dirty napkin and tossed it at him. She wondered briefly if this was how he was with other girls. He was just too _good_ at this – this casual flirting and easy conversation.

He jolted back slightly, but laughed anyway, catching the napkin on his lap. Fiyero held it up and unfolded it, revealing the spot where she had wiped her lips. "Oh, have I mentioned that I can read futures from napkins? It's old vinkun voodoo. I'm very skilled and very talented."

"You're just _full_ of surprises, aren't you?"

"Are you impressed?" He leaned in slightly, and she could see an old scar on his chin – almost camouflaged by his stubble. Probably a boyhood accident.

"I'm… certainly feeling _something_." She breathed.

There was suddenly a change in the air, and she felt a shiver run down her spine. It was probably the cold – it had to be the cold. Fiyero flushed slightly, and smiled, pulling back and finishing up with his breakfast. "Hey, so, I'm doing this Lurlinemas thing on the eve here, in my apartment. You should come."

She had been midway plopping a piece of vegan bacon into her mouth when she paused at that.

Lurlinemas.

She had forgotten how close it had been to Lurlinemas.

"Who else have you invited?" She asked tentatively. Seeing how popular Fiyero had been in various circles, she had expected there to be no less than a hundred billion people – plus she hated parties. _Oz_ she hated parties.

He shrugged. "A few of my closest friends. Some people from work. You, Glin, Boq. My brother and his family… That's it really."

"Oh." She felt a little better. "Sounds manageable."

"Manageable?" He chuckled, wiping his lips with a clean napkin and passed another one to her.

She took the napkin from him and wiped her own lips, having finished with her food. "Parties. Bleugh."

"I get that." He smiled gently. "It won't be huge, I promise. My friend Crope would be setting it all up, so I _know_ there would be good food."

He winked at her and she rolled her eyes weakly. "Don't go thinking that you've found my weakness or anything."

"Of course not!" He pulled his lips into a mischievous smirk. "I just thought that a sophisticated and well-rounded lady such as yourself would very much appreciate the efforts and taste of expertly crafted entrees and party food."

"Impressive sentence structure."

"You should be impressed by how I said that entire thing in one breath."

"Meh."

"Tough crowd."

She shrugged, smiling. "I've long accepted that I'm different from most people. Skin aside."

Fiyero looked at her strangely, as if observing.

"Maybe different isn't so bad."

* * *

Tie, or no tie?

Maybe he should wear an ugly Lurlinemas sweater? Or maybe just a nice, cashmere sweater.

Fiyero's _other_ friends would be around, so maybe he shouldn't wear his whimsical Lurlinemas socks?

"We're already two hours late – Wizard's balls, it's a small party, Boq." Elphie groaned dramatically as she plonked herself into his bed. Sitting by the armchair, Glinda nodded her head vigorously.

"I might meet some sexy vinkun ladies tonight. You two might be fine with being alone for New Year's next week but I am _not_ going to another countdown party alone for the 4th year in a row." He scoffed as he pulled on a deep, purple sweater and checked himself in the mirror, frowning.

"Hey! I might be single, but who says I'm going to be alone on New Year's?" Glinda commented mysteriously.

Boq paused briefly and turned to the blonde with a raised brow. "What? You're seeing someone already?"

Elphie sat up from the bed as well, equally surprised.

Glinda revelled in the attention, and smiled widely. "Mindy from Legal introduced him. I'm not _seeing_ him per say, but I'm certainly not opposed to the idea."

Boq blinked blankly. "Mindy? With the round glasses and weird accent?"

"We have a Mindy on our payroll?" Elphie asked bluntly.

"No, Mindy with the long legs." Glinda corrected.

"Ohh, Mindy Long Legs! That's pretty great. Do you think she could hook me up too?"

"Why are you people ignoring me?"

Glinda tossed a cushion at Elphaba, which effectively shut her up.

It took yet another 20 minutes before Boq had finally chosen an outfit – a navy blue button up and a dark sweater. Ladies love a classy man, and Boq certainly tried very hard to pull off the look.

They rode in Elphaba car and arrived at Fiyero's apartment bulding almost 2 hours and 45 minutes late. When the doors to the lift had opened up, it was easy to see which apartment had been Fiyero's. Just spot the open door with people streaming in and out.

As expected, every eye was on Elphie the moment they stepped out.

The green might be a little _distracting._

Boq could hear Elphaba grumbling about somebody telling her that it was going to be a small party.

They stepped into the house, and Boq could already feel the excitement in his bones. He had never been inside Fiyero's place, and it was certainly a lot bigger than his own. It was very classily done up and oddly impersonal.

There wasn't even a photograph in sight with his own face in it.

The people around him were mostly of the _tall_ variety, and it looks like Fiyero didn't have many munchkin friends. They finally spotted the host standing by a buffet table that had been set up by the kitchenette and sipping what seemed like champagne.

"Yero!" Glinda called out and Fiyero's attention was immediately caught. A grin began to spread across his lips.

The vinkun apologized to the gillkinese man he had been conversing with and quickly stepped over to Glinda, pulling her into a tight hug. "You guys made it!" He exclaimed when they pulled apart.

" _Princess_ here had been trying on more outfits than me and Elphie combined." Glinda tilted her head towards a flushing Boq.

"Oi!" He called out indignantly.

Fiyero chuckled and took Boq's hand in an enthusiastic handshake. "Time well spent. Looking good, Boq! I'm sure I've got a couple of single ladies amidst the crowd." He winked.

"I'm holding you to that!" The munchkin said as he handed over a bottle of wine with a ribbon tied around it.

"You shouldn't have!"

"I'm only giving it to you because you promised ladies."

"In that case, thank you." He laughed. Fiyero then turned to Elphaba, who was giving him the stink-eye.

"Aw come on," He took her and kissed the back of it, smiling charmingly. "It's Lurlinemas Eve! Smile for me?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away. Boq noticed the tiny flinch on Fiyero's face.

"You said it would be a small party." She accused.

Boq noticed that Fiyero had actually looked… _guilty_. "I knew if I told you that I've got more people coming, you would saw off your left leg before you would even consider attending."

"And you were right – do you have a saw in your apartment, perchance?"

"Elphie, be nice!" Glinda frowned prettily.

"We'll pick up some champagne and food, maybe talk to some amiable people, and we'll have a good time, alright?" Boq promised.

Elphaba glanced between her two friends and sighed dramatically. "Fine."

"Great!" Fiyero grinned.

"Oh no you don't." Elphaba shot the vinkun a look. "I haven't forgiven _you_."

Fiyero seemed to receive a surge of new found confidence as he winked at Elphie. "Oh, but you will. I promise, by the end of the night, you would've had so much fun, you might even pass out from the overwhelming awesomeness."

The two of them seemed to be staring down at each other as Boq shot a look of confusion at Glinda, and received a similar look from the blonde. Fiyero looked very determined and amused, while Elphaba was uncharacteristically flustered.

If Boq didn't know any better, he would've thought that Fiyero might actually be hitting on Elphaba.

* * *

30 mins had gone by as the party continued.

Glinda had just reapplied some lipstick as she washed her hands and wiped them on the grey towel by the sink. She all but yanked the door open – the person who had reached for the knob on the other side leapt back in shock.

"Crap! Sorry about that!" She apologized hurriedly.

"It's my fault, I should've knocked." The man laughed gently, wiping his hands on his trousers nervously.

For the first time, she noticed him.

He was tall, and broad-shouldered – rather generic in the Emerald City. His eyes were startlingly blue and it was easy to tell from his strong jawline that he probably had plenty of _pure_ gillkinese in his blood. The red and green ugly Lurlinemas sweater was a little odd but it only seemed to show that he was pretty okay with being a little whimsical.

"I don't think we've met." He said as he reached out. "Callum Chuffery."

Glinda found herself enjoying the sound of his voice.

It was low… gentle.

Mature.

"Glinda Upland." She reached out as well, and he took her hand – his skin was calloused, as if he had spent a lifetime working with them. Immediately, her eyes went straight to his ring finger and somehow, she was glad to find that it was unoccupied.

Chuffery smiled unassumingly, his eyes darting behind Glinda, "Uhm. I apologize but I have to…"

"Oh! Right, of course." She smiled sweetly, putting her game face on. "I'll see you around."

"Certainly." He smiled back and stepped around her. It was in this closeness that she noticed that he might be a little older than her… Or a lot older than her… And he smelled of expensive cologne – not of the department store body spray that most men around her office seemed to like wearing.

She quickly made her way back to Elphaba (Boq had slinked off to talk to some ladies in Fiyero's home office) and she found her best friend stuffing her face with finger food.

"Elphie! You'll never guess what happened to me just now—"

"Bumped into the love of your life?"

"— I met – H-hey!"

Elphaba smiled wickedly, her hazel eyes glinting with mischief as she popped another vegetarian samosa into her mouth. "So, who was it? Does this mysterious stranger have a name?"

Glinda paused.

"Um… Something… Chuff?"

"Something Chuff?" Elphaba cackled, which earned her a weak glare from her friend. "So, what did he look like? Tall? Short? Maybe a munchkin?"

"Tall, very generic gillikinese. Blond, blue eyes, etcetera." Glinda described. She realized that he really didn't have anything special about him that made him stand out – and suddenly she wondered why she had even noticed him in the first place.

"Riiiight. Like all the others in this room." Elphaba raised a brow as she smiled oddly at Glinda.

Suddenly, a cheery voice came from behind them. "Ladies! Are you having fun? Your hands are empty! Grab a glass of wine – I brought out some of Fiyero's nicer bottles." Crope, Fiyero's friend whom he introduced earlier, came towards them with a full glass of wine in his left hand. He was beaming – his ruddy cheeks bright against his pale skin.

"I don't drink." Elphaba declined politely, suddenly stiffening at the intrusion. Glinda had forgotten how Elphie was with meeting new people.

To off-set Elphaba's forced interaction, she smiled sweetly, placing a hand on Crope's shoulder, "I'll fetch one for myself later – so I've heard from Yero that you've set this whole thing up yourself. This really is an amazing party!"

"Thank you!" Crope grinned. "Fiyero was no help at all."

"Just the apartment?" She laughed.

"Just the apartment. He didn't even have the decency to help put up the decorations until I threatened to air his dirty laundry." Crope whined. He glanced towards Elphaba with a raised brow. "Say, you stayed over the other day, didn't you?"

Glinda had received a text from Elphie about this, so it wasn't news to her, but it still felt strange hearing it from someone else – so she simply shrugged when Elphaba's wide eyes flicked over to her.

"I… did." She replied finally.

Crope laughed. "Yero never mentioned until I asked him about the long, black strand of hair I found on the pillow in the guest room. He rarely let people stay over in his apartment."

"You're exaggerating." Glinda laughed easily.

Crope shook his head lightly, still jovial. "Oh, no! Aside from me… and Tibbett," Glinda noticed the slight change in tone as he continued, "Yero doesn't have many _close_ friends. You know that," he winked at her and Glinda blushed. Her eyes flicked over to Elphie for just a second, but it was enough for her to notice the discomfort.

"Is that Baldr Tiggular?" Glinda asked nodding towards the man who was talking to a small group of people by the other side of the room.

Crope nodded, "Good eye! Just him though. The wife and kids are apparently back in the Vinkus. Not sure what happening there." Suddenly – just as tipsy person would – he changed the subject. "Say! Where's that cute munchkin friend of yours? I've been _dying_ to talk to him."

Bemused, Glinda pointed down the hall and the flamboyant man was gone in a flash. She turned to Elphaba, who in turn raised a brow back at her. At the same time, they both broke into laughter at how absurd that exchange had felt.

* * *

The night was still young.

A loud laughter came from his home office and Fiyero excused himself from his current conversation with a beautiful red head – who'd been clinging on to him for over an hour – to go see what was happening.

As he meandered around his apartment, his eyes scanned the rooms for a particular green lady.

Another round of laughter rang out, and his curiosity was piqued again. When he'd peeked in, he was surprised to see Boq and Crope clinging on to each other, both men were red-faced and both were _giggling_.

An audience surrounded them, laughing at the spectacle – including a cry-laughing Glinda who was sitting on his armchair by the side, and a highly amused Elphaba who was leaning on his desk next to Glinda, trying to hide her smile behind her hand.

"What's happening?" Fiyero nudged the giggling spectator closest to him.

The brunette - who didn't look very familiar at all – shrugged. "Some kind of Frankenstein's drinking game – They combined _Blind Man's Bluff_ with the body part game. Winner gets to choose where the loser has to put his body part on him."

"Doesn't sound like much of a reward…"

"Who knows? _They_ seem like they're having fun."

At this, Fiyero turned away from the girl and manoeuvred his way towards where Glinda and Elphaba were sitting.

"Hey." He greeted and Glinda brightened.

"Hey yourself! Where _were_ you? This is the weirdest thing I've seen since college!" She laughed. Next to her, Elphaba _vibrated_ – as if she were trying to supress her own laughter. Boq and Crope had fallen on top of each other when one of them had lost their balance. The audience cheered and two other volunteers came up to take their spot.

"Are you guys done making a fool of yourselves?" Elphaba asked amusedly as the two men approached their friends.

Boq was first to speak while Crope was still recovering from a giggling fit.

"What's a party without a crazy drinking game?" He grinned. His forehead shined with sweat as he wiped it with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Crazy? That used to be a Friday night back in the day before Fiyero gone and got himself shoved into rehab!" Crope chortled loudly.

Fiyero felt a sting at the mention of his stint in rehabilitation. It wasn't the stay that bothered him, but the reasons and people behind it. It wasn't something he wanted to ever re-visit.

"Maybe you've had a little too much tonight, eh Crope?" Fiyero smiled falsely as he laid his hand on the blond man's shoulder.

Crope shook his head, his words already slurring. "Oh no you don't! It's Lurlinemas Eve! I gotta make it till Lurlinemas at least – let me up till the countdown!"

Somebody tapped on his shoulder and he turned, realizing that it was Elphaba. She flashed her phone at him, showing him the time – 10.20pm. Crope had to be put to bed _right now_. He wouldn't make it to Lurlinemas.

"Sorry, no can do my old friend, old buddy, old pal." Fiyero sighed as he gently coaxed a _highly_ reluctant Crope towards the door.

"Aw!"

"Elphie, you should help." Glinda nudged at her friend – to which, Elphaba groaned. She pushed herself off the desk anyway and proceeded to assist Fiyero with steering Crope in the right direction. The audience in the room had drifted somewhat and they had more room for Crope to stumble without knocking into _too_ many people.

By the time they had managed to pull the man out of the room, he had already complained 15 times about how his feet felt like they were stepping on clouds. He asked continuously if Fiyero had replaced his flooring with cotton.

"Are all your friends like this?" Elphaba asked as she gave Fiyero a look.

He flushed, his embarrassment growing 10 fold. "Uh…"

"I'm not judging. Just… making conversation." She said, turning away and opening the door to the guest room with her free hand.

"I only have Crope and my other friend, Tibbett. The two of them were partners but they're going through some rough stuff right now." Fiyero explained as he ushered the blond in and shut the door behind him. "He doesn't usually drink this much."

If she felt anything akin to pity, she hid it well. Elphaba didn't seem to pay him much mind as she helped Crope into the bed and took off his shoes for him. At Fiyero's curious stare, she seemed to flush. "He'd get uncomfortable sleeping in those."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." He managed a cocky smile.

She rolled her eyes at him, but he noticed the slight pull on the corner of her lips.

The room was quiet – aside from Crope's incoherent mumbling. Elphaba sighed as she sat roughly on the edge of the bed, while Fiyero made himself comfortable next to her. They took this chance to rest – him, away from the pressures of hosting and her, away from the discomfort of social anxiety.

"Great party." She commented amusedly.

He laughed weakly at the absurdity of the words coming out of her mouth. "You're mocking me."

"Am I the type of person who would do that?" She smiled, mostly for herself. "The calzones were a nice touch."

"I knew it, you're only here for the food!" He laughed as he nudged his shoulder at her. She bounced back effortlessly, grinning.

"Look at that – You've learnt so much about me."

"What about the samosas? I got them specially for you."

"They were very good. I'll have to get the name of the caterer from you for that one."

"What if I told you that I made them all from scratch, all by my lonesome self?" He asked mock-seriously as he raised a brow at her. She looked at him with a frown.

"I know that's a big fat lie, but for the sake of this conversation – even if you really honestly did that, I still wouldn't believe you because your kitchen seems perfectly intact."

"Ah! The lady is harsh." He laughed, placing a hand on his chest. "I don't think I'll ever recover from that stab to my heart."

"You have a heart?" She smirked.

"Was there something poisonous in that samosa? What's going on here?"

She laughed, a genuine – ruddy cheeked – laugh, and he felt that fluttering in his stomach again. For a very brief second, Fiyero wondered if he could touch her – not in the gross way.

He wanted to hold her hand.

Just an innocent touch.

She glanced up at him and he looked right back at her. Her eyes had always been a physical part of her that _attracted_ him – he just couldn't help wanting to get closer to her when she looked at him like that.

At the back of his mind, he wondered for the millionth time.

When had it started? _How_ had it started? It was pretty damn clear now that it wasn't going to be a fleeting thing, and he had never once _swooned_ over a woman…

Oz damn.

He _liked_ her.

He liked her so much it almost bordered on upsetting.

This might be the first time since adolescence where he liked a girl _harder_ than the girl liked him back. In fact, _this_ girl seems to just think of him as her best friend's annoying ex.

Although, of course, for one, she's not a girl – she's a woman.

This doesn't _change_ anything, per say, but Elphaba was definitely of a supirior calibre as compared to his previous attractions.

Behind them, Crope moaned as he rolled to his side, drooling.

Fiyero sighed. "I'm going to have to burn that pillow."

"Because of a little drool? Honestly. You don't even sleep in here anyway."

"Someday I might!"

At this, Elphaba snorted. "You _live_ in this apartment. You have your own bed, or has that slipped your mind?"

"I might develop night terrors and choose to sleep here. Have you ever thought of that?" He argued stubbornly.

She rolled her eyes at him, although amusedly. She couldn't seem to help the smile on her lips – and he could help but to stare. Elphaba noticed, but for some reason, he felt emboldened instead of wanting to turn away. They were alone – mostly – and the noise of the party outside felt so far away.

If he just leaned in, he could be kissing her right now.

That would be the dream, wouldn't it?

To kiss Elphaba Thropp on Lurlinemas Day.

Maybe he could go find a mistletoe somewhere.

The air became thick, and she swallowed hard. The sound of their breathing seemed to be louder than the noise outside. His eyes flicked between her lips and her eyes – and he could tell that she was getting… flustered.

Fiyero wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but he decided that he was going to try anyway.

He leaned, just slightly, and she did not pull away.

So he tested his luck again, leaning just a little bit closer…

…

And closer…

…

He could see her eyes fluttering shut…

…

And her lips seemed to part…

…

He could smell a light, faded scent on her skin…

…

And the feeling of her breath against his lips, not quite touching…

…

A knock came from the door.

* * *

 **A/N** Longest chapter yet! And a pretty terrible cliffhanger :P

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - Netherlands! That sounds pretty damn awesome. I haven't had the chance to travel to Europe. :P You'd hate it I think. The air is prickly dry, the snow gets in your everything and _melts_. You can't see much and the wind _howls_. It's pretty gross. Lol! And yes, I've written it! Pretty messy stuff are coming up in a couple of chapters, but we'll get to it ;)

aramenunicorn - Right?! I'm down in SF and it rarely even snows.

Ozian-in-Australia - I've heard about Australia's weather, hahaha! Snow isn't as spectacular as the movies like to portray it lol

lorenalims - Oh I'm not done yet, I assure you ;)

Indy's Green Hat - Hey! I've been reading your stuff, but I haven't gotten around to writing the reviews for them :P Glad you're enjoying this story. And that thing about Tibbett? Well... We'll see... :P

AJeff - Thanks! And this was an exceptionally long one for you ;)

AstridElsa99 - HAHAHA! I'm sorry that I might've disappointed you! Maybe next time :P

Mother yackel - Yay! Hahaha! Wow that's a pretty awesome breakdown of the modern Ozian hockey scene Lol! I'd think the EC team would be the stoic types. Like reigning champs, zero personality, robot-like hockey machines. Hahaha! I don't know, I could get reeeeally detailed with this :P


	18. Chapter 18

**18.**

A knock came from the door.

Elphaba felt her blood freeze as she quickly pushed Fiyero away from her and leapt up to her feet, not caring if the sudden jolt would wake Crope from his drunken haze. The blond snored loudly, but made no indication of getting up.

The russet haired vinkun on the other hand, stared. His eyes were impossibly wide as he stared – no, _glared_ ,at the door. There wasn't a second knock, and even after waiting for a few seconds, nobody seemed to be checking in. It must've been an accidental knock by one of the party goers outside.

Still.

Her heart was beating out of control. She couldn't understand what was happening. Her ears were _ringing_ and her head was swirling.

Did Fiyero try to _kiss_ her?

Was that what was happening?

They were _so close_ – she could feel his warm breath against her lips, and see the individual lashes lining his green… _green_ eyes. The way they kept flicking from her eyes to her lips… she was so sure that she had imagined that.

 _He_ wanted to kiss her.

 _He_ leaned in first.

Sure, her lips may have somehow parted in the middle of all that... and somewhere, deep inside, she felt the urge to push him to the ground, mount on top of him, and stick her tongue down his throat… GREAT OZ WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO HER?!

She cleared her throat indiscreetly, her entire body _shaking_ at how hard her heart was beating. "I-I should go—"

"—Wait, no!" He leapt up from the bed, panicked and looking like he was ready to lunge at the door if she so much as breathed in that direction. For the first time since she had met Fiyero, he seemed vulnerable... And so… scared.

He stepped towards her, and she found herself stepping back. The room felt like it was spinning around her.

"We have to talk about this." He pleaded softly.

"Talk about what? Nothing happened. We tucked Crope in and that was it. There's nothing—"

"—you can't pretend that it didn't happen." Fiyero exhaled sharply. He was frustrated at her, she could tell that much. "You wanted it too, I saw it."

At this, Elphaba stiffened, and felt her own anger rise. It was irrational, she knew that much, although there was nothing she could do once it appeared – her temper had been a defence mechanism that had manifested from a… _warped_ childhood.

"I'm not about to discuss if anything did or did not happen. I am not the same as those _girls_ outside who fall to your feet just because the _great Fiyero_ needed to stick his—"

"—yeah, stick my what, huh, Elphaba?" He growled, looking hurt and very surprised at her words. He coiled away from her – almost as if he was suddenly afraid of touching her. "Did I seem like that type of guy? I can't believe that _you_ of all people would think that of me—"

"—and _how_ did you think I thought of you?" She seethed, taking a step towards him unknowingly. "You're the guy that girls fall head over heels for because you're sweet, charming, and good looking – and everything's so _easy_ for you. Every conversation with you has to have some sort of innuendo or casual flirting. It's the same thing you do with _every single girl_ you ever came across – including Glinda. You get them wrapped up in your little finger and then you get bored of them because none of it was real! You dated my best friend, broke up with her, and now you're here at a Lurlinemas party trying to kiss _me_! _"_

Elphaba found herself breathing heavily by the end of that outburst – an outburst that she hadn't intended to have. She almost wanted to cry but decided that it would only make her look weak, and undermine everything she just said – whether she actually, honestly, meant it or not.

Everything felt stupid and juvenile. They were adults, for Wizard's sake. Working adults with a 9 to 5 job and taxes to pay. This just felt like college level bullshit.

Fiyero was stunned.

His eyes were impossibly wide, and every word she had said seemed to cut him to the bone. It was this moment where she felt a deep ache in her heart as he took another step away from her, and his body looked as if he were trembling. She bit her tongue – knowing that if she didn't, she would only say something to make things worse.

A deep pool began sit in her stomach.

Regret.

A lifetime seemed to pass between them as Fiyero struggled to pull himself together. She could tell that she had hurt him, deeper than she meant to. He stared at her, unable to speak. They were shuffling away from each other, the tension between them was – for the lack of a better word – intense. She felt a coldness creep across her skin and realized that as Fiyero stepped further away, the cold seemed to grow stronger.

He clenched his jaw, again and again, as if he were fighting back an urge to say something. His eyes bore into hers, trying to find the words to say. After a little while of just staring at each other, Fiyero blinked, rubbing his eyes and exhaling sharply. She had thought that he might speak, but he simply brushed past her and yanked the door open, closing it quickly behind him as he left.

And then she was alone

Save for the oddly quiet Crope in the guest bed behind her – she wondered if he had heard everything. And if he had sobered enough to understand what was happening.

Elphaba felt like her entire world had crumbled around her. At this moment, it felt like any semblance of friendship between them was gone. They'll be back to ignoring each other's existence. And now that he didn't have to make nice with her because of Glinda, she would probably never see, or hear from him again.

Oh wait.

His office was right across from hers.

And Boq and Glinda were still friends with him.

Ah! Frex was right! She finally screwed up big enough and now she'll have to hand the company over to Nessa and escape into the Glikkun Mountains.

Everything is coming up Elphie!

She groaned inwardly as she fought to keep herself from throwing up.

* * *

"Glin, look at that guy. He looks familiar. Like, in the crazy dejavu way."

Boq poked at her ribs with his elbow and nodded his chin towards a tall, red-skinned man who had just arrived at the party. Glinda rubbed the spot on his ribs where Boq had elbowed her, frowning. "I don't think you understand the usage for dejavu."

"Whatever. Just, look." He insisted as he took a sip from his glass of wine. They were seated out in the living area, occupying the couch and taking a rest after the debacle that happened in Fiyero's home office not too long ago.

"Wow, you're mean when you're drunk." Glinda rolled her eyes. She turned her attention to the man, who was now talking to one of the other guests, and suddenly realized that he really did look uncannily familiar.

Slowly, she stood from her seat on the couch and casually sashayed closer to the man, who stood near the entrance to the kitchen. If anything, she could pretend to be picking up a glass of water. As she got closer, she could hear snippets of conversation.

"— designing a new campus for our client."

"Oh, we didn't realize that any of the 'big 3' companies were expanding in the city."

"It's just come concepts for now. They haven't settled on the location… Makes it impossible for me as an architect. But what do they know? They just want us to draw pictures of big buildings."

The men laughed and clinked their glasses together.

A quadling architect. How many quadlings actually make it big in the Emerald City? And how many of them could've been architects with connections to Arjiki Tradings?

It had to be him.

She quickly escaped from the kitchen and slinked back to the couch, next to Boq, who was startled by her sudden presence.

"What's up with you?" He slurred, steadying his hand and trying not to spill unto Fiyero's expensive furniture.

"That's TurtleHeart Huntley." She hissed in a quiet voice, slightly annoyed at Boq's inebriation.

The munchkin rolled his eyes and leaned in closer, trying to hear her above the noise of the party. "TurtleHeart? Who's that?"

"TurtleHeart from my architectural class in Shiz!"

"That creepy Teacher's Assistant who was friends with Elphie? The one you thought was stalking you because he kept showing up around your dorm?"

Glinda flushed at the description, recalling that it was how she had explained it to Boq way back when they were in college together. Now that she knew the reason behind TurtleHeart's frequent trips to Crage Hall, she thought less of the stalking and more of how many times he had hooked up with Elphie in their _shared_ room.

"Yeah, him." She grumbled, growing pink in her cheeks. "Look, we have to make sure he doesn't see Elphie tonight."

"What, why? They're friends, aren't they?"

"It's complicated, Boq."

The munchkin looked at her with furrowed brows and an unconvinced frown, but said nothing else about the matter. He shrugged and pointed towards the guest room door – Elphaba, Fiyero and Crope were still inside.

"Lets change the subject then… There's something weird going on with Elphie and Fiyero tonight, isn't there? No offense, cuz I know you guys used to date and stuff."

"None taken." Glinda nodded curiously.

"Yeah, it's like… They're getting along. Which is weird. Every time I hear them talk to each other, I feel like I missed the context entirely." Boq commented seriously, as if the gears in his muddled brain was still struggling to process the facts that he knew.

"Well isn't that the truth." Glinda scoffed amusedly. "They should date."

"Date?" Boq barked sarcastically. "Elphie's too good for that guy! I would see her with an older man to be perfectly honest. Somebody mature and has his shit together."

"Fiyero's older than us, y'know? Maybe 4 or 5 years."

"Ho'Damn!" Boq blinked, genuinely surprised. "He's got skin like an infant's ass."

"First of all, ew."

"My point still stands." Boq adjusted himself on the couch as he finished off his wine. "He may fit the age criteria, but his personality just… I don't know. I can't see it."

"Hm. Maybe we should just agree to disagree." Glinda sighed, a little dejected.

"Uh huh." He hiccupped, and placed his empty glass down on the coffee table. "Oh crap, I feel bloated as hell."

"How much did you drink, gosh."

"Enough." He groaned. And suddenly his attention seemed to be drawn away. "Uh oh. Mr Ex-T.A seems to be headed towards the guestroom."

"Oh nonono – He can't know that Elphie's here tonight!"

"That's kind of a tall order, seeing that she's _green_ and _famous_ in these parts?"

"Don't you sass me, you drunk munchkin!" She leapt up from her seat and pulled a slightly unwilling Boq from his seat. "We have to distract him!"

"Right, distract. On it."

Boq pulled himself away from Glinda as he strode towards the quadling who was standing by the door. He pushed the people who were blocking his way and planted himself squarely in front of TurtleHeart, who had already knocked once on the door.

"I'm sorry, do I know you…?" He asked politely, glancing worriedly towards the people that Boq had pushed away in his path towards him.

"Oh no, not me. I'm Boq. Nice to meet you." Boq quickly grabbed one of TurtleHeart's hands and shook it forcefully. "That's Glinda. You know Glinda?"

Glinda, who had some trouble keeping up with Boq, finally appeared next to him, sweating slightly at how much effort it had taken to apologize to people, run, and not trip over something in the process.

"Ah, hi." TurtleHeart cocked a brow at the two and took Glinda's hand. "Uh, have we met?"

Glinda shook his hand and smiled as genuinely as she could manage. "Yes, I used to take Ozian Architectural History class with Professor Hornsbart?"

"You're one of Hornsbart's students? Wow!" He smiled, his teeth was bright against his red skin. "Small world. Although, I never thought that a student would recognise me, especially not here. How did you know Crope or Fiyero?"

"I hated em'!" Boq declared.

"W-What?" TurtleHeart coiled back in shock.

"H-He's joking! He's joking." Glinda laughed nervously, feeling the eyes of the other party goers on her back. She had to be careful not to mention Elphaba. "We're friends with Fiyero."

"Ah." The quadling smiled politely and nodded. "And you're still in architecture?"

"Marketing and Public Relations, actually."

"You do seem like the type." TurtleHeart chuckled. "I can tell. You're too beautiful and radiant to have worked in architecture. You don't have the tell-tale scars." He winked, and laughed charmingly – it wasn't too hard to imagine how he had managed to keep Elphaba under his thumb for so long.

Glinda found herself laughing as well, although it had only been because it had become second nature to her to laugh whenever her conversation partners were laughing. She couldn't help feeling uncomfortable as she spoke to the quadling.

Next to her, Boq slowly caught on to it and laughed as well, still a little confused by the situation.

She had to find an excuse to drag TurtleHeart away, lest Elphie and Fiyero came out of that door when they hear all this fake laughing and conversation. So when a familiar, charming blond man whose name she couldn't – for the life of her – remember, walked out from the door next right next to her, she quickly pounced.

"Hey you!" She beamed, her face had begun to hurt at how wide she was smiling. The man recognized her immediately and his brows were shot to his hairline. Confusion seemed to be a recurring theme tonight.

"Hi, you?"

She planted herself onto his arm, laughing, "Hi, so this is uhm – Chuff. He's a good friend of ours and he's had this keen interest in the architecture business for the longest time. Do you think you could maybe, regale us by the couch? It's getting oh so crowded around here."

Her heart pounded in her ears as the kindly stranger glanced down at her and then back at a confused TurtleHeart, and finally he spoke. "Y-Yes. Callum Chuffery. My friends call me Chuff. I'm a senior Investment Banker with Goldman Kohl."

"Yes! He's a senior investment banker. A-And Goldman Kohl had been looking into different sectors lately, and Chuffery here is looking at the architecture and construction scene in particular." Glinda lied smoothly.

"Goldman Kohl. That's very impressive." TurtleHeart confessed as he shared a handshake with Chuffery. He then glanced towards Glinda with a small nod. "You've got friends in high places… I suppose I could spare a couple of minutes."

She simply laughed dismissively. Although deep in her chest, her heart was pounding so hard she was afraid that Chuffery might actually feel her entire body vibrating.

He helped her! He picked up the rouse and he was actually _helping_ her! They've met for an entirety of 5 seconds and he didn't just scoff and walk away as she thought he would.

She quickly led the party towards the couch and felt relief as TurtleHeart followed dutifully behind – having seemingly forgotten about his business in the guestroom.

"So. Why is a senior investment banker for Goldman Kohl researching on the construction and architectural scene?" TurtleHeart asked as they sat on the couch. Boq had gone and fetched some drinks for them in the kitchen, and they were left with Chuffery and Glinda. "From what I've heard from our lawyers, the hot thing right now is in the tech market, what with Grizzle Tech expanding their base of operations."

"Well, it's been a long lull in the financial sector, so I've been helping some of my clients with diversifying their portfolio. The tech industry can be… unpredictable." Chuffery explained awkwardly using a cut and paste dialog that bankers tell other people who weren't bankers – Glinda dated enough men who worked in investment firms and banks to know when they were bullshitting.

An 'unpredictable' industry just meant that the banker hadn't bothered to do his research in that market.

She appreciated the effort though.

Chuffery smiled kindly at TurtleHeart, and listened politely while the quadling explained how the construction industry was structured. The men quickly became engrossed in their conversation – sans Boq, who was already out of it – and Glinda found a minute to catch her breath.

She was inclined to observe – and found that her attention had drifted towards the older gentleman sitting next to her. As Chuffery conversed, she noticed the tiny wrinkles that were beginning to appear along his eyes, and the unsuspecting grey hairs that were hidden amongst his blond hair.

It was oddly attractive however… She had never really looked at that particular demographic in the sexual or romantic capacity… let alone exploring the idea of dating a man this much older than herself.

Of course, this was assuming that he was single.

She resisted the urge to sigh as she focussed her efforts into pretending to be engaged with the conversation.

* * *

 _Sent 10.18pm  
GlindaU: TurtleHeart Alert!_

 _Sent 10.18pm  
GlindaU: I don't know how he got here but he's here_

 _Sent 10.19pm  
GlindaU: and I'm using that guy I met earlier to distract him_

 _Sent 10.19pm  
GlindaU: Whatever you do, don't come out until I give you the clear!_

* * *

"What's going on here?"

"W-What?"

She was startled as Chuffery's voice sneaked up on her. She had slipped into the kitchen in the pretence to grab a glass of water while TurtleHeart went off into the washroom. He looked at her strangely, smiling amusedly.

"I'm so sorry! Oh Lurline, I'm so sorry." She exclaimed nervously. She hadn't had the chance to talk to him privately since she jumped him earlier, and now seemed as good a time as any to apologize. "I know you didn't have to help me, especially since we've only met a few hours ago! I must've ruined your Lurlinemas Eve."

"It's okay, it's okay!" Chuffery laughed. "I was happy to help. It wasn't a bad conversation, and a pretty good idea for me to check into that market anyway."

Glinda found herself smiling widely, comforted by Chuffery's assurance. He seemed pretty genuine, and it had been a nearly a month since she and Fiyero had broken up… Oh, alright, maybe closer to 2 or 3 weeks. Still! A girl has needs!

"Alright… so. Investment banking, huh?" She started, wanting to continue talking to him.

Chuffery shrugged lightly. "Pays the bills."

"And a little more?"

"And a little more."

Glinda shook her head disbelievingly, laughing lightly. Chuffery smiled.

"And how does one end up in a situation where she has to grab a random stranger into making conversation with another random stranger?"

"Well… One would have to have a best friend who happens to have slept with an old ex-boyfriend recently and never called him back, and now the same ex-boyfriend is at this very Lurlinemas party."

Chuffery nodded slowly, beaming amusedly. "Is your life always this exciting?"

"Unfortunately." She felt a small pull on the corner of her lips. "I suppose I should've expected it, seeing that I've made a career out of meeting people and making nice with everyone."

"Oh? I don't think you've mentioned what you did for a living."

"Marketing and Public Relations." She smiled, pulling out her name card from her purse.

Chuffery took the card and held it gingerly between his fingers, looking very impressed. "Marketing Director at Thropp Co? Wow."

"Yeah… You should keep that." She pressed, feigning innocence as she leaned on the kitchen counter. She watched as he turned the card on its back and noticed the number scribbled on the surface.

Chuffery glanced up, having finally realized her intentions, chuckling lightly and shaking his head. "Well. I think it would only be fair if I left you with mine in exchange."

He reached into his back pocket and produced a fancy card holder, slipping out a cream coloured card with the Goldman Kohl design on it. "That's my office line, unfortunately."

"That's okay." She smiled sweetly, the same smile that had made many men grow weak in their knees. "You've got mine. Let me know if you wanna grab a cup of coffee someday."

She finished off with a subtle wink, and walked away from him, feeling completely and absolutely sure that in a couple of days, she would be receiving a phone call from a particular Mr Chuffery.

* * *

"Boq? Where did TurtleHeart go?"

Boq blinked, trying to get the urge to nap out of his eyes. He glanced up and found himself looking at a worried looking Glinda. "He's still in the washroom… Say. You were in the kitchen with Chuff, weren't you? So where'd he go?"

"I'm right here."

Boq fell back into the couch, stunned by the sudden appearance of his newly made acquaintance. He must've been a magician! How did he appear behind Glinda like that?

… Maybe he just really had a little too much to drink tonight.

Quite suddenly, the door to the guest room all but burst open, and a very displeased looking Fiyero strode out aggressively. Glinda called out his name, but Fiyero didn't seem to hear as he politely excused himself from his own party. It was this moment that TurtleHeart seemed to have returned from the wash room.

"What's everyone looking at?" He asked curiously.

Chuffery shook his head. "Fiyero just headed out. Might've been an emergency."

"Hm. With both hosts out, is it such a good idea to stay…?"

Glinda excused herself nervously. "I'm sorry, I have to see someone." She took TurtleHeart's hand and shook it almost too forcefully. "It's been great seeing you again, Turtl—Um, Ted. We'll catch up!"

Boq then found himself being scrutinized by the two confused men while Glinda fled the scene and charged towards the guestroom to find Elphie.

TurtleHeart glanced at the direction where Glinda had left, and then back at Boq, who was slowly shrinking down into the cushions of the couch – trying his best to look as small as possible, and hoping to disappear completely.

"…I'm sorry, but where did you say you met Fiyero again?"

* * *

"Elphie! What happened?!"

Glinda shut the door behind her quickly, and locked it just for good measure. She didn't need TurtleHeart barging in on them. She took a moment to observe the room – Crope was snoring loudly in bed, completely knocked out, while Elphaba sat on the edge of the bed, looking absolutely miserable.

"I think I did something bad." She said softly.

Glinda frowned deeply, not sure what her friend could've done to get Fiyero to react like that. "What did you do, Elphie? You have to tell me what happened."

Elphaba exhaled sharply and pulled her hair away from her face, shaking slightly. "He tried to kiss me… and I pushed him away."

At this, Glinda began to feel an awkwardness creep into her body. She was in an odd position. On one hand, she wanted to be a friend to Elphaba – comfort her, give her some sagely advice, tell her about all the other fish in the sea. On the other hand, they were talking about her ex-boyfriend and current good friend, Fiyero. And Glinda knew just how enamoured he was with Elphaba.

"You pushed him away." She stated, moving over to sit next to her best friend. "Is that why he got upset?"

Elphaba groaned, and shook her head.

"How about you tell me exactly what happened, from the beginning." She suggested. She watched as Elphaba picked under her fingernails – a nervous tick that Glinda had noticed she possessed when they were roommates in college.

"We were talking, joking around… It was nice."

"Umhm."

"The conversation kind of trailed off, and he was looking at me with this… intensity… He leaned in and I didn't pull back."

"You wanted to kiss him." Glinda guessed.

"I don't know."

"Oh please! You already admitted that you didn't pull back when he leaned in."

"Maybe?" Elphie groaned again. "But before anything else happened, there was a knock on the door and I panicked, so I jumped away from him, quite literally."

"Oh good grief."

"He wanted me to acknowledge that we almost kissed, and I refused… And then he got frustrated and I got mad, and said some rather nasty things about him that probably weren't true… I think I hurt him pretty bad."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes."

"You have to apologize to him." Glinda fished out her phone and began searching for Fiyero number, "Right now."

"I can't!" Elphaba coiled back. "Not right now. I've never seen him so upset. And I don't know how to apologize. Especially for the things I said to him."

"It's going to be Lurlinemas! You can't leave it like this! It's not fair to either of you."

"I mean, I don't _need_ this many friends anyway…"

"Yeah, unless you want to kiss either Boq or me, you're better off chasing down Fiyero." Glinda rolled her eyes. "Look. TurtleHeart is here tonight and he was the one who knocked on that door. Oz damn, he's like a venereal disease—"

"Ted's here?!"

"Oh forget him!" Glinda swatted at Elphaba. "My point is, you have to get out there and look for Fiyero. He left the apartment and went Oz knows where. It's _his_ party after all, and Lurlinemas is coming! He should be here, with _you_ – not walking the streets at 12 am."

"This is all too melodramatic for me." Elphie whined. It was all too clear that she was afraid and being a child about it.

"You brought this upon yourself!"

"I can't." Elphaba stood from the bed and paced. "Not now. I just can't deal with this right now. Not with Ted outside."

"Why do you even care?! Do you even feel that way for him anymore? I thought you said he was slimy and untrustworthy?"

"I said that? I mean, I'm not saying that it's not true—"

"—yes you did say that." Glinda groaned in frustration. "Lurline's Sake, Elphie! You're hot then you're cold – you're going to have to make up your mind very soon, y'know?"

"Sure, I don't feel that way for him anymore but every time I see him, I just turn into a younger, stupider, version of myself." She paced at room furiously, still picking at her nails. "I'm not strong enough to deal with this right now."

"Aughhh! This conversation is making me feel really mad!" Glinda fumed.

"And how do you think _I_ feel?!"

"Alright, FINE." She leapt up from the bed and crossed her arms – almost like a child throwing a tantrum. "I'll let it slide this time, but you _will_ have to deal with this eventually. Apologize to Fiyero tomorrow, or later if he comes back. We're still going to stay friends with him, whether you find the strength to deal with it or not."

"…Fine."

"Fine!"

* * *

Fiyero felt the snow crunch sloppily beneath his boots.

Each step felt heavier than the last, and he had to use every last drop of will power to resist walking back to his apartment. He knew that he would have to head back there eventually… probably before the clock struck 12.

Just the thought of being out here, in the streets of the Emerald City, alone and cold on Lurlinemas Day… Oz damn, it's pathetic.

He could blame Elphaba.

But he wouldn't, of course.

Despite what she really thought of him, he was still very sure that he cared for her. Maybe even more than he cared for himself. At this point, all he really wanted to do was to make sure that she had a good Lurlinemas, and if what it took was to keep away from her – since she seemed to hate him so much – then so be it.

It was this moment that he walked by a 24/7 convenience store that still seemed to be open. Some magazines were propped up on the displays near the window, and he found himself staring at an older copy of the OzBeat magazine – one that had his face on it, with the headlines "Scandalacious Arjiki Playboy? A conclusive list of the ladies rumoured to have fallen in bed with Fiyero Tiggular, heir to the Tiggular fortune!"

He wasn't the heir, of course. Baldr was. But nobody would have given a crap if they had put 'A conclusive list of the ladies rumoured to have fallen in bed with Fiyero Tiggular, middle child of the Tiggular family!'

He found himself standing outside the windows longer than he had intended as he stared at the cover of that particular magazine.

Was this how Elphaba saw him? This _scandalacious_ playboy? She should've known him better than that since she was the one who told him that he was more than what he would let people see.

He wasn't this high-balling, cocky, douchebag who threw his money around and slept with anything with a pair of tits and a vagina – at one point he might've gotten dangerously close to becoming that man, but he always managed to find himself.

And finally when he though he found a kindred spirit with Elphaba, she came around and threw it right back in his face.

…

Although even after everything, he couldn't blame her.

He dusted the snow off his shoulders and walked into the store, picking up that magazine off the display. The clerk raised a brow at him when he noticed the cover, but said nothing else as he took Fiyero's money and let him go his merry way.

He made his way to the park a block away from his apartment, choosing to sit on a frozen, stone bench right underneath a street lamp. The area was safe enough, with plenty of lights and a small Lurlinemas Eve party happening a little ways off in the distance.

If anything happened, he wouldn't lose much – his wallet was still up in his apartment, and he had paid for the magazine with the last of the spare change he found in his pockets.

He began to flip through the pages, skipping quickly to the article about himself.

 _#50 Annie Arlington_

They began at _50_?!

He wondered briefly if Elphaba, or even Glinda, had ever seen this. If so, he would have to find a time to set the record straight. The list counted down, and Fiyero had been brought back down memory lane. Some of the names, he had never heard before, but others had stuck with him.

Slowly, as he read, he realized that while 50 was a bit of a stretch, the final numbers seemed to come close enough… And for the first time in a long while, Fiyero felt shame. The embarrassment, which he had hid away with bravado and a healthy dose of testosterone fuelled denial, came rushing in.

How many of these girls had he never called again? How many of them were actually in love with him? (As unlikely as that were.)

There was an entire page dedicated to number 5, Sarima. They had really managed to dig up some very personal information… In fact, they even seemed to have gotten a quote from the she-devil herself. He skipped it, and flipped to the final girl – Glinda. The article was nearly a month old, and it was way before the two of them had broken up, and they had managed to paint their relationship into this happy, magical, made-in-heaven match, and even included a photo-morph of how their children might look like… It was incredibly creepy at best.

He rolled the magazine up and tossed it.

Sighing exhaustedly as he rested his back on against the bench, huddling into his coat as a sharp wind blew across his cheeks.

That must've been what Elphaba had constantly heard about him, and he couldn't blame her for feeling insecure – and for doubting him and his intentions. He wished she had trusted him enough, but after seeing how the entire _city_ sees him, he found it hard to ask more of her.

What does this mean for the two of them now?

Back to square one?

He thought about giving up, and just keeping his distance – like she wanted in the first place. But he would miss her too much, and while he knew this was selfish of him, he hated the idea of not being around her…

Fiyero took a final glance towards the waste bin where he had tossed the magazine… That's the life he was willing to throw away for her. That playboy reputation had to go. It would be a ton of work and a lot of soul searching, but she was worth it.

He recalled her hazel eyes and unaffected smile…

…

Yes.

She was worth it.

* * *

 **A/N** I took down an earlier version of this chapter, so I'd just like to apologize to those of you who had this story on alert! The first version I had up was much too rough for my liking. In any case, it seems like I ruined our favourite couple again. Hopefully they don't stay apart too long... :P Stay tuned!

Indy's Green Hat - I'm glad your phone's fine Hahaha! Hope you enjoyed this one too!

Guest - Thank you, friend ;)

AJeff - Who's on the other side of the door? Why TurtleHeart of course! Here to ruin everything for everyone :P

Just Me - Glinda still feels uncomfortable with actually seeing Fiyero and Elphaba together, but I think that's understandable. And I have experienced at least one failed relationship where my ex ended up dating one of my friends. It felt really odd, but when it came down to it, I suppose I wasn't as crazy about her as I thought I was, and I moved on a little while later. The two of them are still together as of right now, actually :P And I'm really glad that you enjoyed my stuff! I just hope I'm doing the Modern Oz AU the justice it deserves. There's not a lot of us out there!

aramenunicorn - West Coast Unite! Lol! Well, get that knife ready, TurtleHeart's going around ruining tender moments.

lorenalims - Hahaha! I'll make it up to you, I promise!

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - Lol! Ikr?! 70 thousand words, and still no Fiyeraba kiss. What sorcery?! But we'll get there soon. Promise! Also, now you can direct your rage at TurtleHeart! :P

AstridElsa99 - I did upload actually, but found that the chapter was too rushed, so I took it down to flesh it. Sorry about the confusion!

Mother yackel - Welcome back :) Oh, I'm really glad that I got the chemistry down. It's just so much fun to write their conversations when they're being civil with each other :P Also, awesome names for the hockey teams! I just might steal them ;)


	19. Chapter 19

**19.**

"Elphie. You've got a meeting with Tenmeadews in an hour."

"Grief."

"You can't slink outta this one."

The CEO glanced up from her work, her eyes just peering above her wire rimmed glasses, and frowned. Boq shrugged nonchalantly and walked towards the pantry, picking out a ginger candy from the bowl.

"Have you read through the documents prepared by our people?" He asked, ripping the plastic wrapper. "I can have them in PDF if you want to look through them on the road."

"Yes, I've done my homework." Elphaba complained. "I've seen the finance report they released last quarter, and I've gone through the market research deck that business strategies put together for me."

"Right, right. Sometimes I forget how you were like when you were in college."

"College?"

"1 hour, Elphie. I can let you have 10 more minutes in here, but after that we gotta skedaddle."

Elphaba raised a brow at him. "Skedaddle?"

"Are you just gonna repeat everything I say?"

"You do say some very strange things."

"I'm leaving this room."

Boq turned and made for the door. Behind him, he could hear Elphaba snickering.

"Oh come on!" She laughed. "Where's your sense of humor?"

He rolled his eyes, knowing that she couldn't see him doing that, and plugged his ears with his fingers. "Can't hear you!"

"Sure, and you won't be able to open the door either!"

* * *

"I heard back from the Private Investigator, he left me a message after the Lurlinesmas weekend."

Fiyero perked up at the sound of Crope's voice. He had been going through some of the meeting agendas and necessary readings – rather vigorously he should add – and hadn't heard his door opening. He placed the files down on his desk.

"Good stuff, I hope."

Crope scoffed. There was something odd about the look on his face. It was the quiet sag, and defeated smile – surely… So no, it wasn't going to be good news. Things were only about to get worse before it could get better.

"Right." Fiyero braced himself. He got up from his seat and walked around to the front of his desk, leaning against the edge with folded arms.

Crope stepped forward and produced a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "There's names… dates… places…"

Fiyero reached out and plucked the paper from his trembling hands. He unfolded the paper quickly and scanned through the text. Just as Crope said, it was a list of names… Doctor's names. And next to their names were the addresses to their clinics. Many of them were just a little outside of the city proper.

"Why is he going to so many doctors?"

Crope sat on the chair in front of Fiyero's desk, burying his face with his hands. "Specialists." He said simply.

Fiyero read through the paper again, properly this time.

"Doctor Feinstein, Upper East Side… Internal Medicine. Doctor Bengal, Artisan's District, Internal Medicine. Doctor Waterstone – They're all internal medicine, general MDs. What am I not seeing?"

"Look at the bottom. They were all treating him as an outpatient. It's just like him – that stubborn fool. He went and saw 5 different doctors who were just going to tell him the same thing."

Crope took the paper from Fiyero and folded it in half, focusing him on the parts he needed him to see. He handed the paper back to Fiyero and sunk back down into his chair.

"… What is this?" The vinkun asked cautiously as his eyes scanned through a list of what seemed like gibberish. "Zidovudine? Emtricitabine? I can't even pronounce half of these."

"Zidovudine." Crope repeated slowly. "Zidovudine, as in AZT."

Fiyero paused.

AZT.

 _HIV antivirals_.

* * *

"You're looking pretty today."

"Cut the crap. You know why I'm here."

Avaric laughed loudly, so much so that everyone else in the restaurant seemed to turn their heads towards them. Elphaba glowered at him, but kept her mouth shut. They didn't need any more attention at their table.

"Feisty as ever. How was your Lurlinemas? I assume that you've spent it with the lovely Miss Glinda?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes at him and refrained from commenting on Avaric's implications. "Tenmeadews Corp signed a deal with Grizzle Tech. Why."

"Jumping straight into huh?" Avaric raised a brow and grinned. "Y'know, usually I'd like that but see, Elphie dear, I'm a busy man and I've taken some time out just to meet with you today. I feel that it says something about how… _highly_ I think of you. The least you could do is to let me buy you lunch. We'll talk business after."

"I know you, Avaric. We went through 6 years of prep school together. During which, you and your _cohort_ stalked me all day long and commented on everything I did. I don't need to spend any more time with you than necessary."

Avaric's grin morphed into a thin frown. He almost looked genuinely upset, and she knew that it was just a matter of time before he cracked. As a teenager, Avaric had already perfected the art of masking everything behind a moronic grin and an insufferably smug personality, but for someone like Elphaba, it was all too easy to see through.

To be perfectly honest, he reminded her of Fiyero.

"Sometimes I wonder if you know that your words can really _sting_." He said insincerely. His lips quickly pulled into a smirk. "But I won't hold it against you. I adore you too much for that."

"What do you want from me?" Elphaba hissed, feeling the annoyance building up and her patience running thin.

"Nothing devious, I assure you." He laughed. "I hear that Glinda's available now. What happened? Did Tiggular finally toss her aside? You know, I'm surprised he even lasted that long. I've got many friends who tell _stories_ about that man."

"It's really none of your business."

"It's pretty weird how he went running after you to the washroom that night at the Thropp Founder's Day gala."

"It's really a miracle how I haven't stabbed you in the eye since you started talking."

"Ouh! The things you say!"

Elphaba changed the subject quickly, knowing that her urge to walk away was growing stronger by the second. "Why do business with Grizzle – why is Tenmeadews Corp backing that soul sucking company?"

There was a pause in the air.

Avaric seemed to be done with his toying, and he took a large sip from his wine, wiping his lips with a napkin, taking the time to fold it back into a neat square – just like how they taught them back in school.

He glanced up at Elphaba and she felt a drastic change in his demeanour – finally, he was shedding that mask. Many people who dealt with Avaric Tenmeadews were quick to undermine him. They could only see the disinterest and boredom when he sat in during meetings and never said a word, or they would see him with a woman around his arms at some high couture gala.

The number of people who would ever have the chance to see the real Avaric underneath could be counted on one hand, and for some reason, Elphaba found herself to be one of the select few.

"Okay, I'm done with this." He said, dropping all pretences, scratching a spot on his chin. "Congratulations. You might've beaten your personal record."

"Oh trust me, I was 2 seconds away from standing right up and walking away."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't, I suppose." He snorted, shaking his head. "Alright. What do you need from me?"

"You signed a deal with Grizzle. Why?"

"They're a fast growing company. Dangerously fast. The Grizzle name was spreading like the plague… or Gonorrhoea."

"Why, why do you have to say that?" She rolled her eyes.

Avaric smirked. "They came to us like a million times over the last couple of years, and we knew that they were doing the same thing with Arjiki and Thropp, so we decided to wait and see. You made it known that you didn't like them, and Baldr Tiggular was still on the fence. Daddy made the decision a couple of months ago to give Grizzle the go ahead."

"Of course he did."

"You know how he's like." Avaric laughed and leaned back in his chair, "It's a bad habit but he loves swooping. He sees that the two of you aren't doing anything about that golden goose, so he swooped."

"Grizzle couldn't crack the Emerald City, that's why they needed one of us to back them. We would've been safe and maybe stopped them from further expanding into our territory, but now your dad's gone and enabled those fools."

"The money's too good." Avaric shrugged. "And they made some very compelling points during their pitch."

Elphaba groaned, and it was this moment that the food that they ordered earlier had finally arrived. They waited till the servers were gone – and Avaric could go back to being himself – that they continued the conversation.

There was suddenly an odd seriousness to Avaric's features as she watched him glance about, as if making sure that no one else was close enough to eavesdrop. "Their pitch was very, _very_ strong. It almost like they knew exactly what we needed and avoided every 'no-go's. The budget was perfectly reasonable. The returns were impressive and they had a backdoor out for every possible scenario we threw at them."

Elphaba raised a brow at her blond friend. "You sound unconvinced."

"I'm just saying. It's too straight. You and I both know that no business proposal could be this clean and this perfect."

"You think that they've got eyes in your offices?"

Avaric shrugged and picked up a fork on the table, digging into his spaghetti. "I _know_ that they've got eyes in here."

"… If that's true then they've probably got Arjiki and Thropp Co. tapped as well." She exhaled sharply, her stomach suddenly lurching at the thought of a spy amidst her own people. She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Since you know that your dad probably got played, why are you still in business with Grizzle? Why not expose them?"

"Hey, I'm saying that I know we got tapped, but I'm not saying that I know _who's_ tapping. Even if I came out guns a blazing, I've got no proof."

"Then how'd you know for sure that you've got a spy?"

Avaric stopped eating midway and glanced up at Elphaba with narrowed eyes. He chewed off the noodles and wiped his lips with his napkin. "I expected better of you, Elphie dear."

"I wish you would stop calling me that." She rolled her eyes.

"It's the kind of thing that you just _know,_ alright? Don't you ever just _feel_ when something's off about a report or business pitch? Like when deals go over too smoothly or when something just doesn't seem like it's _right_?"

"No, I don't know what you're talking about."

Avaric exhaled laboriously, "Alright look, you just know when someone on your team seems like they're losing on purpose. Or like when your mom is actually having an affair with your next door neighbour or something."

"Riiiiight." Despite rolling her eyes, Elphaba seriously considered what Avaric had said and began to wonder. Had anything been off in the offices lately? To be perfectly honest, she wouldn't know. She had always thought that when things had gone wrong, it was because of incompetence – never had she considered sabotage…

She'd have to have a chat with Boq when she got back.

* * *

The doors were unlocked when they got there.

The loft, which was bright and full of life before, is now decrepit. The hardwood floors were scratched up, and littered with boxes which were left unlabelled. A lonely piano sat near the windows, dusty and untouched for the longest time.

There were takeout boxes sitting on the kitchen counter and a thin layer of grime on everything. If Crope had been around, none of this would've happened. He'd forgotten how much of a slob Tibbett could be.

Oh, Tibbett.

The love of his life.

It took only 2 months for everything to fall apart.

"Was it this bad when you came to visit?" Crope asked, his voice was soft in the harshness of the apartment. He was walking around, taking it all in. Just 60 days ago, he lived here with the love of his life.

Now, he's here as a stranger.

"No."

"… I believe you."

Fiyero checked the bedroom, and Crope stayed by the piano – remembering a simpler time when they could all just goof around and not have a single care in the world. Outside, he could hear the occasional car honks and bongo music being played down the street.

Just last week, they had found out that Tibbett had been stricken with HIV, and the chances of Crope having contracted it from him was monumental. So much so that Crope was already convinced of having already gotten it even before going into the clinic for the test.

He should be mad with rage, really. Tibbett had basically doomed him and refused to tell him anything. What if he'd gone and met someone else? He might've unknowingly gone around, spreading the horrid curse. He got tested regularly enough, but things happen all the time, and this was one of those times.

It was hard to hate him though. He loved him too much, and he knew that Tibbett must've felt even worse when he found out himself. What's done is done, and they only had each other now.

"Who's there?"

That voice.

He turned and found himself staring at a ghost.

* * *

"Tea?"

Fiyero shook his head, "No thanks… Would you sit?"

Tibbett, who had now grown a generous beard, stared at his guests for a little while before finally taking a seat on the chair. Next to Fiyero was Crope, who looked like he was ready to fall apart himself.

The two of them hadn't spoken to each other in months. They caught glances of each other in the office every once in a while, but despite working in the same department, work seemed to keep them busy enough.

"Why are you here?" Tibbett asked gruffly. His hands looked like they were almost trembling.

"We know." Fiyero said simply. He watched the expression on Tibbett's face carefully, but found that the heavy beard made it hard to make out what was happening there.

Tibbett licked his lips and exhaled sharply – almost like a scoff. "And you're here to ask if I gave it to you too?" His eyes were flicked to Crope.

"He came to see if _you_ were okay." Fiyero narrowed his eyes at Tibbett's hostility.

"I'm fine."

"You look like crap."

They were startled by the sound of Crope's voice – Fiyero more so than Tibbett. In fact, Tibbett seemed like he was almost comforted by his voice. "Is it the beard?"

At that, Crope seemed to smile a little.

But only a little.

"How?" He asked, serious again.

Tibbett leaned back into his seat, the exhaustion showing on his face and body. He closed his eyes and breathed deliberately – as if counting back.

"It was… It was a bad night."

"You gotta be kidding me." Crope groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Fiyero felt his fists clenching and his heart breaking.

"It was one time, alright. I haven't touched the stuff for years. Shit was going down in the office and you had your own crap to deal with." Tibbett was furiously chewing on his bottom lip. "My old supplier got booked a year ago, so I had to find a new one. Turns out he isn't as clean as he said he was."

Fiyero felt his blood boiling. "You impulsive fu—"

"—I know what I did. I know what I am. You have your vices, Yero, and you couldn't kick them either, so don't come in all high and mighty with me alright?!" Tibbett growled. "I was good for 5 years. 5 straight fuckin' years."

"That's all it takes, Tibby. One mistake." Crope glanced up at his partner. "You could've told me. All I wanted for you was to tell me."

"I couldn't!" Tibbett coiled back in frustration. "I couldn't do that to you. Not again. And when I found out that I was positive, I couldn't tell you either because it would all come out."

"So did you? Did you give it to Crope?" Fiyero glared at his friend, angry that it had to come down to this.

Tibbett looked him in the eye, and he noticed the haggardness in his features.

"I get my test results in a week." Crope said in a soft voice. "But I think we both know what that piece of paper is going to say."

"How is that fair—"

"— and how do you think I feel, Yero? In a week, we'll know for sure if I killed Crope." Tibbett interjected, defeat in his voice. This has been the most negative Fiyero had ever seen him. "But I'll say it right now, since we all already seem to know deep down anyway. Yes. I gave the virus to Crope. I gave it to him and I ran because I was too much of a dirtbag to admit it."

"Freakin' Wizard's balls." Fiyero cussed under his breath, shaking his head in frustration.

The room was quiet now. Fiyero was too mad to speak, and Crope seemed to be in deep thought. Tibbett was shaking, as if he were crying, but nothing seemed to come out. It only served to make Fiyero even angrier because it made Tibbett seem like he was dead inside – and he wanted anything but to think of his two best friends _dying_.

Finally, Crope sighed. He stood up slowly, and the two men watched him as he walked over to where Tibbett was sitting. Tibbett stood up as well, meeting him in the middle. Fiyero felt like he shouldn't have been here as Crope leaned in and pulled his partner into a hug and Tibbett buried his face in the crook of his neck, quietly shaking.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

Fiyero felt his heart break into pieces. The worst part of it all was that there was absolutely nothing he could do to help them. All the money and connections in the world couldn't rid that virus from their bodies. They were too young to begin living in a ticking time bomb.

The two of them were going to die – and in his own, selfish mind, Fiyero had the most to lose, with both of his bestfriends dying. They were supposed to grow old together, and sit around a cigar parlour talking loudly about which one of their grandkids were handsomest. Now Tibbett and Crope might not even make it that far.

They stayed like this for a while as the clouds outside grew darker and the snow began to float down from above in a flurry. Every second counted when you knew that you were running out – but right now, everything just seem so far away.

* * *

 _Received 10.15pm  
ElphabaT: _Can we meet?

 _Sent 11.10pm  
FiyeroT: _Sure.

 _Sent 11.11pm  
FiyeroT: _Rosing Park in an hour.

* * *

Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. There was no reason for her to feel so nervous about meeting with Fiyero – she was simply going to apologize and quickly make a break for the hills.

Although, it must've been odd for him when he heard from her again. They haven't seen each other since Lurlinemas – which was over a month ago. Things had gotten so busy over the last month – what with the New Year celebrations and the HR sweep for the corporate spy – she hadn't had the time to take a breather.

Rosling Park was a quaint little thing tucked away in the hustle and bustle of the Theatre district. Even this late into the night, there were still people milling about. Elphaba shucked the collar of her coat to her neck as a crisp wind blew across her cheek.

She could still hear music being played somewhere along the streets as she sat at a stone bench, waiting.

"Hey you."

She snapped her attention to the figure approaching her. It was him, of course. He was smiling at her – perhaps a little awkwardly – and he walked over and sat down next to her. She felt a chill run down her spine, recalling a time when she had these dreams about him in the same scenario, except that it had been warmer in that dream… not as frosty as tonight.

"So… How have you been?" He asked, flinching at how cold the bench was as he sat.

"As good as it could possibly get."

Fiyero smiled, shaking his head. "Something's stirring in the air, isn't it? Everyone's feeling it. Baldr's getting worried."

"Has he told you why?"

"Nope. No word on that front. But the board is getting anxious… You know, I really shouldn't be telling you all this."

Elphaba shrugged lightly. "We could change the subject."

"Alright. So why'd you call me out tonight?" He asked casually. He shifted and angled his body towards her, and it gave her a better view of his irritatingly handsome face.

Elphaba braced herself and took shallow breaths – it was still hard to maintain eye contact with him however, so she kept her eyes straight instead of turning to face him.

"I wanted to apologize."

"What for?"

At this, she rolled her eyes and turned to him. "You know what for."

He had a lopsided smile on his lips, "I thought about that night a lot, y'know."

Elphaba felt her cheek grow hot at that remark. "W-What? Why?"

"I mean, you basically called me a prostitute." He said, looking hurt – although from that mischievous glint in his eye, she could tell that he was joking.

"Hrmph."

"You're sulking." He cracked a smile and laughed. "Although I wasn't kidding when I said that I thought about it a lot."

Elphaba shrugged, indicating for him to continue.

"I saw a magazine that night when I was walking about the streets. They had a list of women who were _linked_ to me… like… romantically. I've never actually read any of those articles written about me, and after our fight, well, I had to know."

"Had to know?"

"Yeah, how people really saw me." Fiyero sighed. "It was… humbling."

Elphaba began to feel a semblance of guilt when Fiyero's features seemed to sag. She folded her arms across her chest, huddling against the cold wind. "I… suppose I was being unfair as well when I said those things."

"No, no. You were pissed that I tried to kiss you shortly after having broken up with Glinda. That's fine… Although, you do know that she's the one who dumped me right?" The corner of his lips pulled into a lopsided smile.

No. She hadn't known that. She could feel her eyes going wide. Glinda had told her that it was over between the two of them but Elphaba was the one who came to the conclusion that it was Fiyero who initiated the break up… And now she felt like an ass.

"Hrmph."

Fiyero chuckled, and settled on simply looking at her – almost adoringly. She wouldn't know. She supposed that she liked the way he was looking at her… But it also made her feel all weird on the inside, and she didn't know how to deal with that.

She wished he would stop. Every look and every smile he gave her only served to make her delusions that he might actually _like_ her even stronger. They were two very different people and it just wouldn't work – plus he was the guy who dated girls like Glinda and knew the difference between hair wax and hair gel. She was the girl who didn't learn how to brush her hair until college and practically lived in the library.

"… I have to go." She said cautiously.

He stood from the bench, laughing like it had been some kind of inside joke with himself. "Of course you do."

Elphaba huffed, and stood as well, her toes had begun to feel the cold. "So…"

She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"We're good?"

"Yeah… we're good."

She looked up at him and found that he was smiling. It was just too hard to resist _liking_ him when he smiled like that – and reluctantly, she felt the corner of her lips lift, just a tiny bit.

* * *

The following week, Fiyero found an unmarked envelope sitting on his desk.

It was a caramel coloured piece that contained 2 tickets to the first preview of a musical that was opening in a few months. The letter in the envelope claimed that the tickets were a gift from the theatre, and they hoped that he would attend the event.

The first thing that popped into his head was to ask Elphaba if she would go with him – and then he began to wonder if she would even enjoy a musical. She seemed like she would rather pay good money to watch a play instead.

The two of them had come to this odd standstill, although he knew that deep down, somewhere, Elphaba _did_ reciprocate his feelings… Just that she was being incredibly stubborn about it. The way her lips parted when he leaned in to kiss her that night was proof enough for him.

Now it was just a matter of showing her that he was being serious about wanting to be with her.

He looked over to the window, and watched as Elphaba worked on her computer from across the street. Maybe he should call her instead of sending a text. It would be more sincere that way, he supposed. His phone's battery had died on the way to work because his stupid charger had shorted overnight, so he walked over to his office line and dialled – surprisingly, he remembered her number by heart.

It took only a few seconds for her to notice that her phone was ringing. She took a glanced on her screen and looked over to his office, frowning. He simply waved and grinned.

"What do you want, I'm working."

"Good morning to you too." He laughed, and waved at her again from his desk. It was annoying how short the cord of the phone seemed to feel when all he wanted to do was to stand by the window.

"Yes, fine, good morning. Now what do you want?" She sighed.

"The Broadwalk Theatre sent me 2 tickets to preview a new musical they'll be putting up. It's happening next Friday."

"And you want me to ask Boq for you? Yeah, I can do that."

"W-What?!"

All he heard was her cackling at her own joke, and he briefly wondered how he had ended up catching feelings for this ridiculous green woman.

"I want to take _you_." He enunciated every word carefully, and raised at brow at her. Oh, he knows she could see him from there – because if he could see that change of expression on her face, she could see how serious he was being.

"I-I…" She stuttered. "I don't know."

Well. It was clear enough that she still felt uncomfortable with the idea of going anywhere with him. So it was on to plan B.

"I could get more tickets. We could invite Glinda and Boq. I know Crope would kill for a seat too." He suggested casually, although it made him sort of sad that he couldn't be alone with her.

Elphaba was quiet for a while, as if in deep thought, and finally she exhaled sharply. "Alright. If you can get tickets for all of them, we could go."

"That's great!" He grinned. "I'll let you know. Keep your Friday free. If you flake out on me, I'll be forced to kidnap you and hide you in my basement."

Elphaba scoffed. "You live in an apartment building."

"The building has a basement!"

"Yeah, but it'll be a communal basement! It's not _your_ basement."

"I'll just put a post-it on the door to tell people to stay away. Ingenious!"

"Didn't you say that you'll stop being an idiot?!"

"I promised no such thing! And I wasn't being an idiot. I was being a genius."

He could hear Elphaba trying to stifle a laugh, and that only served to make him smile even wider.

"I think you and I have very different definitions for the word 'genius'." She said.

"Mine's the right one." He challenged, hoping to continue their conversation.

He could see from where he sat that she was smiling, and they found themselves looking at each other, and he wondered what she might be thinking. They'll see a musical with their friends, it would loud, fun and utterly enjoyable. He, of course, hoped that he could sit next to her. And maybe they would all have some late dinner, and he could drive her home at the end of the night.

The perfect scenario was playing out in his head and suddenly, he couldn't wait for Friday.

"Just make sure to get the tickets for the others." Elphaba said suddenly, "I have to get back to work."

"Right. I'll see you Friday."

She seemed to pause at that, although he wasn't sure why.

"… Yeah. I'll see you."

And then she was gone.

He felt hopeful, awfully so, and he slowly put the receiver down into the cradle. The grin on his face hadn't gone away, because he knew that in just a few short days, he would be going out with her. Of course he wasn't technically going out with _her_ – seeing that he'll first have to acquire more tickets for the preview for the others tagging along – but it was the best he could do for now, and he was alright with that.

Baby steps, he smiled, little green baby steps.

* * *

 **A/N** So, Tibbett's condition is revealed. Don't do drugs, kids!  
Corporate spies are abound and the gang might be headed out for a night at a musical. Stay tuned for chapter 20 ;)

HC247 - Hey you :) Glad you're still with us! And I agree with you with the blizzards. Lived in NY for a spell when I was in college and for someone who grew up in warm, warm San Francisco, winters were hell.

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - Glad you're enjoying this lol. Little green baby steps ;) Elphaba just needs some time to see that he's being serious about her. Time for Fiyero to put his money where his mouth is.

Indy's Green Hat - Boq should be drunk all the time in my opinion lol! Munchkins get sassy when they're tanked ;) Elphaba and Fiyero... Well... Heh. They'll figure it out.

AJeff - Thanks! Stick around! We'll get to a point where Elphaba is less mean to Fiyero lol.

ThePhantomoftheOpera01 - Thank you! :) I'm a big fan of the Phantom of the Opera too :P

Guest & Guest - Thanks! And ask and you shall receive - here's chapter 19 ;)


	20. Chapter 20

**20.**

Friday couldn't come faster.

The streets outside of the Broadwalk Theatre were some of the busiest he's ever seen in the city. The sidewalk was barely wide enough for the human traffic to pass, and to top it off, a crowd seemed to have gathered at the entrance – waiting for the doors to open.

Fiyero, himself, was dressed in a neat suit – an expensive Karen Ozmaz custom piece that the woman herself made for him for his 23rd birthday. He sat in his car, waiting for the traffic to move. The closest parking lot to the theatre was only 2 blocks away, but there were so many cars on the streets tonight, he had found himself in the same spot for the last 20 minutes.

His phone began to ring and he quickly routed the call to his hands-free device that he wore on his left ear. "Yero speaking."

"Yeow – It sounds like madness out there."

Fiyero recognised the voice immediately. There was the sound of shuffling in the background and white noise from a gentle breeze.

"Tibbett? Are you guys out of the house yet?"

Tibbett and Crope had gotten back together after they had confronted the stubborn fool that day. They figured that they would work things out, seeing that they were basically living on borrowed time. Fighting each other and possibly dying alone and angry didn't seem like such an appealing idea to either of them.

And besides, they loved each other.

"Just stepped out. We wanted to grab a cab off the main road but it sounds like we'll have to take the tube or we'll be craaaazy late."

In the background, Fiyero could hear Crope's voice.

"The tube?! In _this_ outfit? Baby, please!"

"Uh. I'll let you know when we figure out what to do." Tibbet replied after a pause. "Go meet up with your other friends. I think even if we took the Emerald City's fastest cab, we'll still be at least 20 minutes late."

"Damn it. Alright, I'll give Glinda a call."

"We'll see ya soon!"

When the line went dead, Fiyero quickly reached for his phone with his free hand and searched for Glinda's number. The traffic was so slow, he needed only to push the paddle every 30 seconds and he'll have to stop again.

"Hey! Are you calling to rush us, or are you calling to see if Elphie is actually coming for tonight?"

The sound of Glinda's cheerful voice came through a little too loudly in his hands-free device and Fiyero cringed.

"A little bit of both." He admitted, feeling a tiny sense of triumph when he managed to switch to the next lane, which seemed to move a little faster. "Tibby and Crope are gonna be late, and I've been out in the Theare District for the last _hour_. You guys on the road yet?"

"I'm picking up Boq right now. Elphie went home to her apartment last night so she'll be making her own way down."

"She's… taking her own car?"

He felt a pang of disappointment. There went his grand plan of giving her a ride home tonight. Hopefully Glinda hadn't picked up his pathetic little sigh at the end.

"I think so?" She paused briefly, and it sounded like she had just taken a turn somewhere. "It's a good thing we decided to meet earlier, isn't it? We could've missed the show!"

"Yup. Wouldn't want that…"

The truth behind his want to meet earlier was really because he wanted to spend more time with Elphaba, and to give him time to secure a seat next to her. It's starting to feel like everything that _could_ go wrong, _would_ go wrong tonight.

"Alright. I just arrived at Boq's place. We'll give you a call when we've reached the Theatre."

"Sure."

"Oh, don't sound so dejected." She laughed. "We'll save the seat next to Elphie."

"I-I don't know what you're—"

"—byeee, we'll see you later!"

* * *

"Look at you, all dapper and such!" Boq exclaimed as he spotted the vinkun standing around and smiling politely at the passing women who made eyes at him. They had agreed to meet up in the theatre lobby, and it wasn't too hard to spot Fiyero when he seemed to be the only person standing around alone.

"Not too shabby yourself. You clean up nice." Fiyero laughed. It was hard to imagine that less than 6 months ago, he and Boq had disliked each other intensely. Next to the smiling munchkin was a beautiful, radiant angel. It seemed like whenever Glinda smiled, somewhere out there, a puppy was born and an orphan child was adopted into a loving home.

"Absolutely gorgeous," he complimented easily and planted a friendly kiss on her cheek.

Glinda laughed, blushing slightly. "Everything that comes out of your mouth is just coated with a layer of honey, I swear."

"It's a gift, and a curse." He beamed, and as if his body had developed some kind of sixth sense for green people, Fiyero's eyes drifted towards the tall, slender woman walking awkwardly towards them. He felt his smile grow wider.

"You're grinning like an idiot." Elphaba remarked as she strode up behind Glinda and raised a brow at him.

"Elphie! Finally!"

The blond spun around and quickly – happily – embraced her friend. When they pulled apart, Glinda took a proper look at her and nodded in approval. "Just as I suspected. It fits perfectly! You could do with a little contouring and eye shadow but this would suffice I suppose."

"Gee, thanks."

"Look at that! You're drawing attention everywhere you go." Boq commented at the many eyes that were now cast in their direction – particularly at Elphaba.

"Maybe they think I'm part of the theatre cast." Elphaba deadpanned, but Fiyero managed to catch the slight darkening on her cheeks.

Her cheeks weren't the only thing that caught his attention either. It wasn't hard for him to notice that particular freckle on her nose – the one that he liked so much – and how fiercely different she looked amidst the crowd. Everyone would say that Glinda was the most beautiful woman in the room tonight, but to him – Elphaba was the only who seemed to matter.

She wasn't traditionally good looking – acutely tolerable would be a brutally honest description – but there was just something _enchanting_ about her that he couldn't quite let go of. It almost felt like every fibre of his being was drawn towards her, and he didn't mind it at all.

He stepped up towards her, not noticing the stares of the people around them, and he felt his lips upturn. "You look..." He looked over her for a while and let out a little laugh. "…I can't find the words. Just, wow."

She flushed deeply, and that was the only reaction he needed from her. He wondered if he knew that her lips had begun to curl into a smile.

Before they could continue their conversation, the ushers declared that they were beginning to seat and people began to rush forward with their tickets and playbills. Boq elbowed Fiyero. "Are we waiting for your friends?"

"Oh, no. They'll be late and I left their tickets with one of the ushers. We can head in."

Boq nodded casually and turned to Glinda with a grin, extending his arm out for her. "M'lady," he said in a heavily accented voice. She took a look at him and laughed at the silliness, but hooked her arm with his anyway.

As they walked away, Fiyero took a glance at Elphaba and she glanced back at him. They stared at each other, both nervously wondering if either of them should make a move. Fiyero swallowed his nerves and smiled genuinely. "M'lady."

He would be her prince.

Her eyes widened slightly and he noticed the darkening of her cheeks. When she didn't seem like she would be taking his arm, he sighed and reached over – grabbing her arm and tucking it into his. At this, she laughed.

"That's not very gentlemanly." She commented as they stepped inside, looking very much like a couple.

Fiyero shrugged lightly, unable to stop himself from grinning. "Well, I'm sorry if I've outraged your modesty, M'lady… Although seriously. I'm glad you came tonight." He looked over to her, and saw the smallest of smiles on her lips.

"I didn't come for you. I came for the free musical."

"Really? I had you pegged for a play person. I figured that musicals were too quirky and lacked the… _sophistication_ of a play."

"What? I can be whimsical sometimes. And there are plenty of musicals that are more than just songs and ridiculous dances."

Fiyero considered what she said and chuckled. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, Lady Elphaba?"

Elphaba simply made an incoherent noise and slipped away from him, making her way to the seats next to Glinda. Fiyero quickly shuffled towards her, barely realizing that he had somehow developed a tunnel vision that focused only on her.

When he reached her, she had already sat down, and Glinda was showing her something on her phone. Next to them, Boq was gleefully tweeting his experience and scrolling through his Ozbook dashboard. Suddenly, his phone began to vibrate, and Fiyero quickly checked his pocket.

 _Received 7.20pm_  
 _CropeB_ : Gonna be suuuuuuper late! They probably won't let us in. See you guys in act 2 :(

Fiyero adjusted himself in his seat, "Hey. Crope and Tibbet would be missing the first act. I think they got caught in traffic."

Both Elphaba and Glinda turned to him, and it was the blond who spoke first.

"Oh that's awful! The first act of a musical is always the fun part." She sighed. "And I just found out that this musical is by the same guy who wrote that other musical about a bunch of acrobats and some prince with a funny name."

"Are you talking about 'Pippi'?"

"I think so? Isn't that weird?! Momsie and Popsicle loved that show. They had the cast album on repeat for _months_ after they went and saw it with the gillikinese tour group in Pertha Hills."

A loud gong went off somewhere and the audience could hear the orchestra tuning up. This only served to hype the crowd as they sat in their seats excitedly, trying to understand what's happening. Every show had a gimmick of some sort, and everyone wanted to see what this show was going to try.

"Shh! It's about to start!" Boq waved his arm at his friends to shush them and quickly turned his attention to the stage.

Fiyero took a glance at Elphaba, and she did the same – rolling her eyes at him as he laughed.

The show began, and the orchestra played with such fervour and enthusiasm. Their seats were some of the best in the house – every note and every strum could be felt by the audience. The curtains opened and a group of people leapt out from the side of the stage, singing and celebrating the death of the wicked witch.

Fiyero hadn't had the time to do much research on the show, and there weren't much information out there anyway because of how recent it was – so this was all new to him. The costumes were elaborate and playful and the people on stage were performing with their heart and soul – it really was a very interesting experience so far.

He sneaked a glance at Elphaba and noticed the look of amusement on her face. At least she was enjoying herself. Next to her, Glinda and Boq looked like they were having the time of their lives.

The show proceeded to introduce Glissa, the good witch, who came on stage in a giant, mechanical bubble. She sang angelically, her voice reaching impossibly high notes that could very well shatter glass.

"Look at those curls." Fiyero muttered, and it earned him shushes from both Glinda and Boq. Elphaba simply laughed quietly.

As the show went on, Fiyero found himself rather enjoying the spectacle. The jokes were sarcastic and witty, and the characters were often surprisingly self-aware. It wasn't a show that took itself too seriously, and that was what Fiyero liked so much.

They introduced the main character, Elnora – a girl with blue skin, who would eventually become the wicked witch. Elphaba seemed a little offended by that but decided against making judgement until the end of the show.

Glissa, or GA-lissa as she was known in school, turned out to be Elnora's reluctant roommate, and it was during this number that Fiyero noticed Glinda and Elphaba shooting glances at each other and laughing quietly.

Half an hour into the show, they introduce another character – Fariz, the handsome, foreign, playboy prince. At this, Fiyero sat up straighter and he knew that Elphaba had noticed because she had struggled to stifle her laughing.

For some reason, Fiyero felt a spiritual connection with the character – and Fariz's behaviour in the show had reminded him of himself when he was in college. Cocky, flirtatious, and oddly attracted to strangely coloured girls who wouldn't give him the time of day.

Eventually, Fariz and Elnora fall in love after their hands touch when they saved a lion cub from brutal experimentation. It reminded Fiyero of that first time he grabbed Elphaba's hand on the plane ride from Munchkinland – they hated each other so much back then, and he had actually _repressed_ that memory – and instead, he chose to believe that the first time he had touched her was the night he sent her home after their 'friend date', because that was when he realised that he wanted her.

He wondered if this would be a good time to reach over the arm rest and hold her hand. Maybe she wouldn't slap him in front of 3 hundred people. He paused for a few seconds, seriously considering the idea as he stared at Elphaba's hand on the arm rest, but thought better of it. If he knew her as well as he believed he did, she _will_ slap him in front of 3 hundred people.

The first act came to a conclusion when Elnora escapes the corrupt government, flying above the lesser men while belting out an impossible note – ending everything in an incredibly inspiring fashion. The crowd broke into a minute long standing ovation with cheering and hooting – Boq being one of the hooters.

They were eventually ushered out of the hall and into the lobby while the theatre company prepared for the second act.

Boq looked positively flushed when they had stepped out.

"That was amazing!" He exclaimed excitedly. "I mean, they could've given the munchkin actor more stage time and longer lines but wow!"

"You know, it really made me feel like we were back in college again." Glinda laughed. "The actress for Galissa was such a pretty thing!"

"She's 'Glissa' now! Kinda like you back in Shiz. You were Galinda, and now you're Glinda…" Boq considered, "That's… so weird." He said it so softly, almost as if he had meant it for himself.

"Have you called your friends? We've got a half hour before we have to head inside again." Elphaba interjected when she realized that the conversation was headed into a weird direction.

"Hey you guys!"

Fiyero turned to her and laughed. "Speak of the devil."

Crope and Tibbett meandered through the crowd and finally joined the group. Tibbett had gotten rid of his magnificent beard and opted for a cleaner look. The two men were both dressed in designer smart casuals. It was easier to hide their struggles behind layers and layers of pretence.

"Miss Elphaba! Nice to see you again!" Crope grinned and took her hand. "I would kiss you, but we're both a little sick. You understand."

"Uh, it's okay." Elphaba flushed.

"Glinda! Boq! You two look absolutely gorgeous! Look at that bowtie, and you – that's a Georgiou Tribani dress isn't that?"

"You've got a good eye, Crope." Glinda laughed.

Tibbett made a little noise and Crope wrapped his arm around his waist. "Oh yes, almost forgot! Miss Elphie and Mr Boq, this is Tibbett, my partner in crime."

"Nice to meet you!" Boq reached out for a handshake, while Elphaba simply nodded.

"We're sorry we missed the first act. Traffic was disgusting." Tibbet sighed when he had his hand returned. "Was it good though? This show was by the same guy who wrote 'Pippi', wasn't it?"

"Yeah! It was pretty awesome." Boq grinned. "It's too bad you missed it, really. This one's going to be a hit, I just know it."

"See, this is what happens when you insist on taking a cab during a traffic congestion." Tibbett looked over to a nonchalant Crope.

"I'm not getting into the tube wearing _this_." He raised at brow at his partner and gestured to his designer cardigan.

Tibbett rolled his eyes and Crope planted a kiss on his jaw with a laugh.

"Mom and dad, you gotta stop doing that in public, augh." Fiyero scoffed, and it earned him some laughs from Glinda and Boq. Crope gestured at him rudely while Elphaba simply smiled – still feeling uncomfortable in front of new acquaintances.

While Crope and Tibbett continued to entertain everyone, Fiyero nudged at Elphaba. She looked up at him with a raised brow.

"Did you have fun?"

It was clear that she hadn't expected that from him.

"… Yes, actually. The show was… interesting."

"Hm. Good." He grinned. "Do you want anything from the bar? Snacks? Drinks?"

"You're being odd." Elphaba furrowed her brows in confusion.

"I'm just, y'know, showing concern for a friend. Besides, who doesn't like free snacks and free drinks?"

"Free stuff usually come with ulterior motives."

"Okay, Miss Elphaba." He sighed dramatically. "If that's what you really think of me."

"Yes."

"Hm, that's not what I expected." Fiyero admitted as Elphaba smiled, amused.

"Oh? So what _were_ you expecting?"

"I thought you'd go, 'oh Fiyero! I don't think of you as someone with dubious intentions! In fact, I think we should spend more time together and maybe go on a date next Friday, possibly watch a movie at the Lilypad Cineplex'"

The look on Elphaba's face was unreadable as Fiyero felt his heart beat faster. He supposed that even if she rejected him again, he could just try again in a couple of days – he just needed to convince himself that she does in fact still like him.

"Why are you _like_ that?" She said finally, her voice had an odd quality to it – as if she were flustered. "Did your mother drop you as a child?"

"Are you talking about my unwavering confidence?"

Elphaba looked exasperated and refused to entertain him with an answer. Fiyero sighed and figured that he would have to try again another time. It was this moment that the ushers declared that act 2 would begin in 10 minutes and everyone was excited to be seated again.

He wondered if another hour or so of singing and dancing would be enough to help convince Elphaba to give him a chance.

* * *

Elphaba liked the show.

In fact, she found that she related heavily with the character of Elnora, the blue witch. Of course, she thought that blue was such an odd colour, but it was enough for her to make that connection. The music and frivolity aside, she found herself being entranced as Elnora's story unfolded.

The things that she had to deal with and the people's reactions to her were things that Elphaba had experienced first-hand. Even that spiel with Fariz and her in the forest as they rescued the lion cub struck a chord with her.

Fariz was the handsome prince that everyone loved – and he might even love himself more than anyone else. Except that it had all been an elaborate masquerade for him and he had been hiding behind that _scandalacious_ mask all his life because nobody ever bothered to look beneath it.

She saw the good in him – the kindness, selflessness and generosity. And that was what made her fall for him. It wasn't because he was rich, handsome and powerful – those were the attributes that everyone praised him for. Everyone but Elnora.

In that moment where Fariz had easily left everything he ever known behind, just to follow Elnora, Elphaba felt a painful throb in her heart. Fariz reminded her of Fiyero, intensely so, and it was easy for her to pretend that it might've been Fiyero who would leave Glissa – or Glinda – behind and follow her into the unknown.

It was all just a story played out on stage, of course. They weren't really Fariz the foreign prince, or Elnora the misunderstood outcast. She was Elphaba, CEO and chairman of Thropp Co, and he was Fiyero, CFO and second son to the Tiggular family. Reality was harder to swallow.

Fiyero wasn't going to leave everything for her. At the very most, he probably only had a passing _crush_. In another few weeks, he would get bored and move on to another girl - one who met his standards and is ready to throw herself into his arms.

When he so casually mentioned that they should go on a date, she felt herself wanting to run out the door that instant. She kept her mouth shut, because she didn't trust the things that she would say – Oz forbid she'd actually agree to it.

It wasn't as if she didn't feel… attracted to Fiyero.

He could be sweet, and he was definitely funny… and she supposed that there was no reason to deny that he's almost impossibly handsome – but that's just it. Guys like him just _do not_ catch feelings for girls like her. Green, awkward, vulgar.

 _Kiss me too fiercely_

 _Hold me too tight_

 _I need help believing_

 _You're with me tonight._

 _My wildest dreamings_

 _Could not foresee_

 _Lying beside you_

 _With you wanting me_

Oh. She felt her pulse quicken at the lyrics. Elnora, you fool. It's all just a fairytale. Elphaba understood where she was coming from, though. It just didn't feel real, how Fiye—Fariz had so easily fallen in love with her. It didn't make sense why Fariz would leave Glissa like that.

 _Maybe I'm brainless_

 _Maybe I'm wise_

 _But you've got me seeing_

 _Through different eyes_

 _Somehow I've fallen_

 _Under your spell_

 _And somehow I'm feeling_

 _It's up that I fell_

Fariz, you complete and utter idiot. Elphaba paused. Alright, fine. Romantic idiot. She'll let him have that. Admittedly, for Fariz to have done the thing he's done for Elnora, he must've been pretty enamoured.

The song ended with Elnora and Fariz making out fiercely on stage, which in turn, made Elphaba blush intensely. She glanced towards Boq and Glinda, and found that they were completely captivated. She then turned to Fiyero, and her heart had almost leapt out of her chest when she caught him looking away immediately.

Her finger tips began to tingle, and the urge to reach over to hold his hand increased. There was this… tension between them. Something that she couldn't quite explain. She could feel Fiyero's eyes on her again, and she dared a glanced at him. They looked at each other, almost knowingly and she quickly turned away again.

The musical transitioned to a scene where Elnora and Glissa were fighting over Fariz, something that made Elphaba roll her eyes. It just seemed so juvenile. The guards came out from the side of the stage and captured Elnora. And of course, out of nowhere, Fariz swung out – landing awkwardly – and pointed his prop gun at the guards.

"Let the blue girl go!" The actor yelled, and everyone on stage gasped exaggeratedly.

Elphaba heard soft chuckling from Fiyero. He leaned over to her and whispered. "I just thought of a blue pun—"

Next to him, Crope shushed irritably and swatted at his arm.

"Geez." He huffed and sat straight. Elphaba found herself smiling and shaking her head.

An hour later, the finale finally began to play out. Elnora had a heartfelt moment with Glissa, and minutes later, she was attacked by the angry mob and a little girl tossed a bucket of water at her, disintegrating her into a mere puddle. It was… sad. Really. Elphaba felt the loss. Elnora had been so misunderstood and so afraid her entire life. The only moment of reprieve for her had been that scene in the forest with Fariz, and that last bit with Glissa – the only two people in the world who truly loved her.

 _Who can say if I've been_

 _Changed for the better?_

 _Because I knew you…_

 _I have been changed_

 _For good…_

The crowd exploded into applause as the last notes strung out. The company should be proud. They've created something truly touching. The entire house stood, applauding loudly as the curtain rose and the cast came out in groups to take their bow, grinning from ear to ear and panting from the effort.

The main actors and actresses came out together, holding hands and taking their bows. It almost looked like they were going to cry at the sheer intensity of the support they were receiving from the audience.

By the time the group was ready to leave the theatre, most of them were already exhausted and ready to head home to sleep. The people streamed out of the Broadwalk theatre in droves, and Glinda complained that she still had to send Boq home before she could head back.

"Nobody's up for a late dinner?" Fiyero frowned slightly. For some reason, he sounded particularly put out.

Tibbett and Crope shrugged, mumbling about having to head home to catch an episode of their favourite tv show. Boq groaned, indicating his fatigue. Glinda shook her head, mentioning something about falling asleep on the road.

"Well, it really was pretty fun tonight." Boq said enthusiastically. "We should do this more often."

"There's one with the puppets in the theatre next door." Glinda suggested helpfully. "Maybe next month?"

"We wouldn't mind!" Tibbett and Crope grinned.

"Puppets?" Elphaba raised a brow, sceptical. "As in elaborate socks with googly eyes and operated with a hand up its—"

Glinda quickly swatted at Elphaba. "—Elphie no."

"It sounds pretty fun." Fiyero agreed, changing the subject and turning to Elphaba. "Go in with an open mind? Take a chance."

There seemed to be a second meaning to what he said, although Elphaba might've imagined that – it just seemed odd that his gaze seemed to linger…

She would have to admit that the idea of taking chances frightened her – not just in the current context of plays and musicals. Normalcy was what she strived for – having spent her entire life being anything but – and to take a chance was to invite the thing that was _next_ to normal.

"I don't know." She said finally, and Fiyero seemed disappointed. She beginning to hate that look – it made her feel all guilty inside, and Elphaba was definitely anything but a people pleaser.

"Ah well, we'll figure it out, won't we?" Boq exclaimed as he stretched. "Alrighty then, Glin – Time to head off, don't you think?" He took out his phone and flashed the time on the screen at an unimpressed Glinda – who already regretted offering to drive tonight.

"Can't believe I'm driving in a dress." She complained wistfully, but shook it off quickly. She leaned in to Crope for a quick hug, which was returned enthusiastically, and waved goodbye to the rest of them. "We'll see you around."

And as if she could forget, Glinda went over to Elphaba with a mischievous look on her face. "Call me when you get home."

Elphaba smiled slightly and allowed her to kiss her on her cheeks. Glinda then swatted at the munchkin boy next to her to indicate that she was finally ready to leave.

"She's gonna make me drive her around for the next 2 weeks, I just know it." Boq rolled his eyes jokingly and waved goodbye as he followed after Glinda.

The rest of the goodbyes and pleasantries were finished quickly after Boq and Glinda had left, and soon enough, Elphaba found herself in her car, starting up the vehicle and thinking constantly about a simpler life of handsome princes, blue witches and magic grimoires.

* * *

Fiyero sat in his car – alone, having just sent Crope and Tibbett away on their merry way.

The faint scent of pines wafted from the freshener he had clipped on his air conditioner, and a light flurry of snow came down from above. The first signs of the end of winter were beginning to show. People on the streets were getting impatient with the quickly melting snow, and Fiyero predicted that by the end of the next week, the brown slush by the side of the roads would've turned into puddles and washed away.

He thought about calling Elphaba to ask if she had reached home safely, maybe apologize for asking her out in such a casual manner – but when his fingers hovered over her contact in his phone, he panicked and tossed it into the passenger seat.

Oz damn it.

He used to be so much better at things like that. Romance and knowing how to get to a woman's heart was what he did best – but now. This little green minx. She's got him pining and reforming – watching musicals and trying out vegan options at restaurants. They weren't _bad_ changes, but they were _big_ changes. All this in addition to what had happened recently with Tibbett and Crope... Well. It was safe to say he had done a lot of growing up in the last 6 months.

A large, noisy truck drove by and it startled him out of his reverie.

Right.

Home, he was going home.

Maybe a hot shower and a late supper would help him get his head straight.

* * *

 **A/N** A little late! Life got a busy, and hobbies had to lay in the back burner for a little bit. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I had a ton of fun describing the play.  
Quick update: I started writing another modern AU - _Precinct 9_ \- and it's a detective mystery! It's not my priority to update that, but it's something a little more action orientated than _Building Bridges_ so I work on that when I feel the need to exercise my writing range.

In any case! I'll try to toss out the next chapter for _Building Bridges_ soon, and moving on with the plot.  
I... prefer to keep my stories under 30 chapters.  
Also! The reviews have been super fun to read, and I'm always excited to see what you guys have to say about the story.  
Thanks for everything ;)

Mother yackel - Sorry to hear about your uncle, but hey! At least he's taking good care of himself :) Hopefully this chapter wasn't as gloomy as the last.

Indy's Green Hat - Well... It was a lot of self reflection and reality checks for everyone. Simply - sometimes bad things happen, and we have to learn and grow from it. Hopefully this chapter didn't disappoint!

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - Hopefully the spying doesn't wreck _too much_ havoc for everyone... although in the name of throwing Fiyeraba together, a little chaos might just be worth it :P  
After what they went through, lets just hope that Tibbett and Crope makes it to the last chapter! (HAHAHA.)

AJeff - Thanks! I'm really glad you're enjoying this!

aramenunicorn - Hahaha! Well this was an entertaining review. I suppose I'm glad that you've got such strong feelings towards Turtleheart and Milla :P At least you're enjoying the story, I hope!

ThePhantomoftheOpera01 - Thanks! I'm glad you do!

LifelongLeahstar - We'll get to all that! Another 200 chapters till their first kiss maybe. (WAHAHA.) Joking aside, I'm glad you're enjoying this! :)


	21. Chapter 21

**21.**

This morning the bullpen was alive with the sound of fingers drumming against keyboards, coffee cups clunking noisily against tables and phones ringing once every 5 minutes. Everyone in the building were grateful for their jobs and their offices – they were working in the heart of the Emerald City business centre – nothing could ever beat that.

In the early daylight, the air would always smell of food-cart breakfast burrito and gourmet coffee. Every floor in the building – from Legal, Accounting, Marketing, Logistics, etcetera etcetera – every floor would smell the same in the morning, because everyone bought from the same food carts just outside the building.

It was just something that everyone did here in Arjiki Tradings – and every newcomer would be brought down here by their supervisors for their first meal on board, almost like a rite of passage. It was common knowledge, really. Almost like an unspoken tradition. They said nothing about it in the employee's handbook, but everyone knew about it – even the interns.

For Fiyero, however, the reason why he was sitting on a wooden bench – and having food-cart burrito for breakfast with one Elphaba Thropp – well, the reason was a little less cheerful than a simple want to participate in corporate traditions.

"A spy?" He repeated after what she last said and chewed slowly on his omelette burrito. What a morning. "And you're 100% sure?"

Elphaba sat with her left leg crossed over her right, and her own burrito was barely touched. She pursed her lips, and he wondered if she knew she was doing that.

"Avaric was sure." She said seriously, as if she were barely believing it herself. "And Boq headed the sweep in my building himself. There's definitely something odd happening with our latest trends. I'm getting him to keep an eye on things, but with a company as large as ours, I don't even know where to start."

A small group of people in suits walked by them and they kept quiet for a little bit. Fiyero didn't speak until he was sure that the coast was clear.

"You want me to forward this information to Baldr."

"Why else would I ask you to come out with me?"

Fiyero shrugged lightly, wondering if the heat in his face translated into flushed skin as well. Oz damn it – he used to be better at this!

"I don't know." He said finally after a long pause. "I thought you honestly just wanted to have breakfast with me."

"…"

She frowned slightly and her eyes seemed to lock unto him. After a little while, she sighed and took a bite from her burrito.

"… Technically, we _are_ having breakfast together." She grumbled reluctantly.

Ah.

He guilt-tripped her.

Cool.

Although, he did feel sorry for her, seeing her shrink into a hunch as she nibbled on her food – so he smiled brightly, and pulled a funny face – with eggs in his mouth and tomato speckling his teeth. Elphaba looked at him and he could tell that she was struggling to keep her face straight – her brows were twitching and the corner of her lips were in a strange half-smile.

" _Charming_." She said, barely able to keep the amusement out of her voice. "All the things you do with _eggs_."

"I really am, aren't I?" He grinned, and swallowed his food. "Seriously though, how long have you guys been dealing with this whole… _spy_ thing?"

"A month or so, maybe. From what I heard from Avaric, it might've been going on since last summer." She said, narrowing her eyes at the thought of having been snooped on for nearly half a year.

Fiyero, felt the same way. It just felt so gross – having the integrity of the company be violated like that. Arjiki Tradings, Thropp Co., Tenmeadews Corp… they were all family businesses – or at least they all started out as one. In this sense, the violation seemed even more severe than if they were really just faceless corporate entities.

"I feel like I have to take a really long shower after this." He commented with a shudder. Next to him, Elphaba nodded in agreement. He slowly nibbled on his burrito. "Our legal department's gonna freak once they find out. Corporate espionage cases can be so… touchy."

Elphaba groaned.

"You just reminded me – I have a lunchtime meeting with the corporate lawyers today. What a nightmare."

"Really? Where to?"

"Downtown. Some place called _Dwight's Bistro_. Boq picked – not that he's even attending."

Fiyero cocked a brow, scoffing. "Why's he not attending?"

"Apparently his army reserves activated his unit. He'll be in Munchkinland until next Wednesday."

"Boq was in the army?!"

"In his words: 'I did it to pay for college.'"

"So… Is he going to be okay?"

Elphaba shrugged. The expression on her face was curiously scrunched – as if she were trying to hide her amusement.

"Central Munch – the picture of bombarded buildings, starving children and tanks that roam the streets! What savages, these Munchkinlanders are!" She exclaimed, breaking into a smirk.

"Alright, alright." Fiyero laughed, shaking his head. "I guess Munchkinland isn't exactly a war zone."

"The closest thing we had to a military conflict was the Corn Farmer's strike 5 years ago." Elphaba snorted. "Munchkinland's army is mostly for show."

"The Vinkus' got a pretty impressive army, I think." Fiyero commented. "Every year, they'll hold a parade in the city square to show off the troops and the shiny tanks and fighter jets. Super fun to watch as a kid – gigantic waste of tax payer's money as an adult."

"Oh look at you – shiny tanks and fighter jets. What a waste of your taxes." Elphaba mocked jokingly. She then reached down to take a bite off her burrito when Fiyero narrowed his eyes and pushed the entirety of the breakfast food into her mouth.

He burst into chuckles at the sight of Elphaba struggling to chew her food while shooting death glares at him. "Don't mock a vinkun when he's commenting on his taxes." He said mock-seriously.

"I'll get you." She threatened after she had finally managed to swallow her food. "Not here, not now - but when you least expect it."

"Bring it on, girl. I'll look forward to it." He laughed, winking at her. Immediately following that, Elphaba rolled her eyes at him, but he'd managed to catch the smile on her lips.

One step at a time.

He'll have to be careful not to break into a sprint.

* * *

There are 3 things that may happen in the following months to come – and it was in Milla's knowledge that something seems to be stirring in the upper echelons of Thropp Co. Management.

The first thing that may happen is that her employers would be making a move on Tenmeadews Corp soon, and she – and the others who were planted in Arjiki – would be asked to terminate their stay here. They would be moved back to HQ, and they'll receive their next assignment soon enough.

The business scene in the Emerald City was beginning to chatter after the announcement from Tenmeadews in regards to their partnership with Grizzle. People around the offices were nervous and wary – there were already rumours and gossip spreading in the break room that upper management seemed to be spending a suspicious amount of time in the conference rooms.

Elphaba was now often seen outside of her office – which was the weirdest thing for anyone who worked long enough in the building.

The second thing that may happen is that Milla would be asked to stay on indefinitely, to act as the person on the inside. This was in the case that her employers wasn't able to get the foothold in the market that they needed to become the fourth player in the Emerald City business scene. Thropp, Arjiki and Tenmeadews were commonly known to be the 'Big Three' around here, and it has been this way for the last 5 years at least.

Milla suspected that this would be the most likely scenario, seeing that the leaders in the three companies seemed to share an intimate relationship – something that her employers might find hard to crack.

Between Glinda Upland's previous romance with the Tiggular's second son, and Avaric Tenmeadew's odd fondness for Elphaba – Milla doubted that her employers would be able to jump into this circle.

The third, less likely, scenario that may happen is that Milla catches a break and finds out something super important from Elphaba's office, and she manages to sell it to the highest bidder and she earns enough money to retire in a cottage in Northern Ev.

Between the three scenarios, the third one is the one where she would have to put in a little more effort.

Something was definitely happening, and now that Elphaba seemed to be in and out of her office all day, it seems likely that she would be able to find something more valuable than the usual spiel she had been sending to her employers.

It wasn't as if she didn't feel an ounce of remorse for what she's done – and what she's doing – but it was business.

Just business.

A noise startled her, and Milla jolted in her seat. Collins – who sat about two seats away from her – had just toppled his mug over the edge of his desk, and coffee spilled out all over the carpet. There were murmurs of annoyance from the people sitting around him, but nothing much else except for Collins' flustered apologies.

"Look at that." Darius – who sat behind her – came up to Milla's desk and leaned casually. "Poor guy. He's been staying late these last couple of weeks. Could've used the caffeine."

"Why's Collins staying late?" She asked, turning to look at Darius. She knew Collins, but only in passing. He was usually a meek, unopinionated man who did some seriously mundane work around the office – plus he wasn't much for gossip either. Nothing she could've worked with.

"Word around here's that the higher ups are building a defence against a possible buy out. Management's been getting Collins to put together a ton of reports to be presented to Miss Thropp by the end of the week." Darius stroked his goatee, "Anyway. We're working hard to cover our asses back here. Anything happens, they won't be able to blame it on us."

Milla considered what Darius had said. She haven't heard anything from her employers about making a move on Thropp Co. The closest thing to that was when her boss had attended the Thropp Co. Gala a few months ago and had a private conversation with Elphaba. Miss Thropp haven't been too happy with it and that was the end of that – it was then that she had the go ahead from her employers to target Boq instead.

Her right-hand man must know at least as much as Elphaba did, right?

But of course, she wouldn't know.

Before she could get anything substantial out of him, suddenly one fine day, Boq distanced himself from her and that was the end of _that_. She haven't been able to have a private conversation with him since.

It was such a pity.

At one point, she really did come to like him.

A phone call came through to her desk, and Milla picked it up. A gravelly voice instructed her to take a 10 minute break. It was code for 'get your ass down to the meet'. She sighed and put her computer on hibernate as she stood and stretched her legs.

"Taking a break, Milla?"

Cecilia, an older woman with a sweet smile, asked as she walked by her desk.

"Yeah. Lots to do later, gonna head downstairs to refresh my mind." She smiled back as she pulled on coat on. The weather was getting warmer, but not all that much.

"Alright sweetie," Cecilia said with a small laugh, "Just remember to get back before the 4.45 meeting!"

"I'll be there." Milla said as she waved back at her co-worker. From where she was standing, it was easy to notice the empty seat at Boq's desk. He wasn't going to be back until next week, and it was the first time that he was gone on a work day since she was started here. It was… weird, looking over to desk without seeing the munchkin chewing on a ginger candy while he worked.

With a heavy heart, she quickly walked away from her desk.

* * *

"We've got word that Avaric Tenmeadews had a meeting with Elphaba Thropp about a month ago. It looked like an oddly serious conversation, in light of Avaric's personality anyway. And just yesterday, Fiyero Tiggular was having breakfast with Thropp."

Merritole, her supervisor from Grizzle, was sat across from her. He was a tall, gruff looking man with a permanent frown. The small, pink paper cup he was drinking from looked almost comical in his large, hairy hands. The fountain nearby obscured their conversation well enough that nobody else would be able to hear their conversation but them.

"A meeting from a month ago and a breakfast date? How does that help?" Milla asked, the annoyance in her voice was deliberate.

"The old information on Tenmeadew's meeting is on Carson. He'll receive the appropriate reprimanding. But what do you think of the breakfast meeting from yesterday?"

Milla exhaled sharply, "All I know is from what I've heard from the people working in the office. Thropp and her entourage are apparently on first names basis with the Tiggular CFO and his personal friends – despite having split up with Glinda Upland."

"So?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if whatever Tenmeadews shared with Elphaba, she would've shared with Fiyero Tiggular – who would, of course, relay that information to Baldr."

Merritole considered what Milla had said – and his frown grew deeper.

"We might have to make a few changes to our strategy."

"Right."

"Are you not making any progress with Elphaba Thropp's little munchkin aide?"

At the mention of Boq, Milla felt her entire body stiffen. She hoped that she hid it well enough from Merritole, however.

"I don't know what happened – but I'll fix it. There's something happening in the Thropp offices and word in the break room is that we might be preparing for a buy out?"

"Not us." Merritole said simply. "Figure out what happening on that front – it might be something else entirely. I'll check with the others from Arjiki and Tenmeadews. And, just to be safe, you're 100% sure that they don't know who you're really working for?"

Milla paused, and thought back.

She'd been so careful, and her reputation around the office is that of the sweet, innocent Milla. They couldn't have known. Just look at how Darius had so casually come up to her to chat and gossip. They simply thought that she was one of them.

"No. They don't know." She said.

"Alright then. We'll expect a report next weekend. Find out what you can."

Merritole spoke with finality and he finished off his coffee in one gulp, crushing the little pink paper cup in his hand. As he stood and walked away, Milla began to wonder if this might all be worth it in the end.

* * *

Elphaba groaned as she stepped into the mostly empty gym. "Why did you make me cab down here in the middle of the night? Don't you know it's raining out?"

The only person in the gym was, of course, Fiyero – who was wearing a grey varsity muscle tank and gym shorts. His hair was short enough, but he still wore a black head band to keep the sweat out of his eyes.

He stopped what he was doing on the weights machine, and broke into a bright smile. "Hey! You actually came down! Did you say it was raining? Guess spring's around the corner."

"You look ridiculous." She remarked as she sat on the thing that they used to bench-press. "So what's so important that you had to leave 5 messages on my voicemail?"

"Ridiculous? Don't you mean devilishly handsome?" He grinned, and managed to expertly dodge the empty plastic bottle that Elphaba threw in his direction. "Whoa – Where'd you get that?!"

"On the floor."

"Gross."

He said that with a chuckle as he walked over to an open duffle bag that was sitting on the floor and fished out a worn out blue towel that he quickly used to wipe himself with. "Right. Uh, anyway, I told Baldr about what you said the other day – y'know, spy and all. He really appreciates that you've shared that with us."

Elphaba watched curiously as Fiyero picked up his water bottle and proceeded to wash down half the thing – it didn't hurt that his biceps seemed to be _bulgier_ than they looked under a dress shirt and suit jacket. She could get used to seeing him in this get up.

"Oh, uhm. That's good, I suppose." She said awkwardly. "You could've just left me a text."

"Yeah, well." He twisted the cap of the bottle back into place. "I guess I just wanted to see you."

He was giving her that look again – almost like a puppy. Elphaba felt her hard exterior reluctantly soften at that.

"I'm here. So what now?"

His eyes seemed to brighten, and he tilted his chin towards the bench press station that she was sitting on. "Ever tried one of these?"

"No?"

"Wanna try?" He laughed, and walked up to the bar, removing two hundred pounds of weight. "What are you – a hundred pounds? We could start you off with fifty."

"My weight is none of your business…" She said in confusion as she took a look at the weights and raised a brow, "What are you doing? I'm not exactly in gym attire – unless you frequently workout in jeans and a flannel shirt."

Fiyero laughed again and moved over to the spotter position, "You're always so tough on the outside. Maybe it's time to put your money where your mouth is."

"Oh really now?" She scoffed, "I don't recall saying anything about being able to bench press."

"Maybe I imagined it." He brushed it off and nudged towards the bar again, "Just fifty pounds. You can do it."

Elphaba was unconvinced, but for some reason, the more he goaded her, the more it felt like a good idea. "I don't know. What's that in metric?"

"You do things in metric?" He gave her a little half-smile and laughed loudly when she rolled her eyes at him. "22 kilograms I think?"

"Alright. I can do 30."

"30 kilos makes… 66 pounds? Alright. Let's round that up to 70 pounds. I don't have plates for 3 pounds." He smirked cockily as she scoffed at him. "Alright, quit stalling. Lay down."

She did as he instructed and from where she lay, she came face to face with an upside down Fiyero, trying hard not laugh. "Stop giggling, you giant man-child." She flushed, embarrassed by how exposed she suddenly felt.

"Gorgeous man-child, you mean. Geez, Elphaba, your words are all over the place tonight." He smirked down at her again and she rolled her eyes dramatically. He _was_ right about one thing, however – even upside down, Fiyero still looked pretty damn good.

Not that she would ever admit that.

"Ever held one of these before?"

"I know how to hold a bar."

He shook his head, smiling cockily at Elphaba's form. "You're not supposed to hold it like that –"

"–I swear, if you make a dick joke—"

"—you have the _worst_ impression of me, don't you?" He said with a laugh as he placed his hands on hers and adjusted her hold. The coarseness of his skin and the gentleness of his touch didn't go unnoticed. "Don't do it parallel to your skinny little shoulders—"

"—I am not _skinny_."

"—skinny little shoulders," he repeated. "And hold it this way, or you might injure yourself..."

His hands hadn't left hers, and Elphaba begun to feel the heat rise to her cheeks. Suddenly, as if he'd just realized it himself, Fiyero pulled his hands away from hers and concentrated on the bar.

"Alright then. You ready?"

"You can be such a nag, you know that?" She mocked and heaved, lifting the 70 pound bar. Fiyero's help was noticeable, because as she begun lowering the weights, it seemed to get heavier until she begun to lift it – where it seemed to feel lighter. She _could_ choose to feel insulted that he didn't think she could do it on her own, but she supposed that it was a rather sweet gesture, in his own, stupid, way.

"How many was that?" She asked, embarrassed that her breath seemed to catch – she didn't want it to seem like she actually got a workout out of it.

"We did 10. I think that's pretty good for someone working out in flannel," he winked. "Alright, let's get this up." He helped lift the bar back onto the rest, and hovered over her with a mischievous grin. "You seem winded."

"Whatever are you talking about?" She swallowed her breath and folded her arms.

"You shouldn't do that if you're winded." He goaded. "Makes it harder to catch your breath."

"I'm in the best shape of my life, what are you talking about." She retorted boastfully, "I could run a hundred miles right here, right now."

"Oh, I'm gonna have to put you up to that." Fiyero laughed and crouched down, coming face to face with her. It was weird, seeing him like that – upside down no less. He was close enough for her to notice the fallen eyelash on his cheek, and that faded scar on his jaw where stubble wouldn't grow.

"Y'know, I've been meaning to ask – where did you get that sc–"

She barely got her question out when he leaned down and kissed her.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and her lips seemed to move on their own, mirroring what Fiyero was doing and just absolutely not thinking about it at all.

She'd never kissed someone upside down before – and while she was thankful for the experience, it was really awkward to kiss this way. Fiyero seemed to sense that and he parted first, pleasantly breathless and looking down at her with wide eyes.

Elphaba suppose that she probably looked about as stunned as he looked right now, and the two of them just stared at each other for a little while, neither saying anything.

He swallowed hard.

"I uh… I was kinda expecting you to slap me actually." He said, still wide eyed.

She cleared her throat awkwardly and sat up, her head spinning slightly. Looking at Fiyero right-side again, she paused to process her thoughts and feelings. On one hand, she wanted to run out that door, right this moment.

On the other hand.

* * *

Fiyero wasn't quite sure what had gotten into him when he finally made the decision to close that distance between them – regardless of the consequences, he supposed that he was glad that he did that.

It wasn't a fairytale kiss, like he had hoped it would be. Instead, he jumped the gun and kissed her after spotting her for a bench-press and it was upside down, awkward and a little salty.

It was real, though.

That little bump when he came down too fast on her, and the taste of sweat on her lips. It wasn't a fairytale, but it was her. And just looking at her right now as she slowly stood from the bench-press station – oh the amount of self-control he needed to stop himself from kissing her again.

He felt his lips move and he supposed that he said something about expecting her to slap him, but he haven't quite got his senses back yet, so he couldn't know for sure.

He watched as Elphaba stepped towards him, and he braced himself for the impact.

And when it came, he was shocked that it hadn't been her hands across his cheek, but her lips on his. It was soft, this time. Her hands came up to his chest, pulling him towards her, and he let her, giddy with the thought that she wanted him – she really, really wanted him.

His eyes fluttered close as they kissed, and they didn't really care that they were doing this in the middle of a musty old gym. Even the rain outside couldn't put a damper on this.

When they pulled apart, he could only feel a lightness in his chest, and his lips tingled in a very pleasant way. This was it. This complete and utter euphoria. Fiyero began to suspect that he might actually be in love with her, because Oz forbid, he'd never felt this way about anyone before.

There was something about the way she was looking at him too, and he was sure that he felt her heart race as fast as his was when she had him pressed up against her.

So, he didn't quite understand why when she pushed him away, gently at first, and then a little more desperately. Something seemed to overwhelm her.

"I-Is something wrong?" He asked, the feeling of dread begun to replace the euphoria from before.

Elphaba swallowed hard and shook her head, her eyes darting towards the exit – and he already knew what she would say.

"I have— I have to go."

"Elphaba, no." He pleaded. "You don't have to go anywhere. I'm not going to hurt you—"

"—you don't know that."

No.

Not again.

She was pushing him away again.

"You're insane." He said. "Absolutely insane. You know me. You know the type of person I am."

"Look, you got what you wanted, alright? We kissed, and in a couple of hours, you'll realise that whatever benign feelings you _thought_ you had for me are gone. Things would get weird and we'll stop hanging out, and by this time next week, you'll have a pale skinned, little blond hanging off your arm."

"Elphaba, I am getting so Oz damned tired of running away from this, alright?!" He yelled, running his hands through his hair in frustration. He was angry at himself for shouting at her, but it was either that or completely breaking apart. "I'm going crazy over you. I think about you all damn day, my palms get sweaty when I'm near you and frankly, I'm afraid of how _willing_ I am to make a complete fool of myself just to impress you. And here you are, repeating the same thing over and over again – I've never felt like I could be myself with anyone but you."

"W-what – You don't know what you're saying."

He sighed, and gently held her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. She struggled for a bit but finally, reluctantly, allowed it.

"It's not a passing crush." He said seriously, "Remember the plane? That 10 hour nightmare from Munchkinland to the Emerald City?"

She nodded cautiously, doubt still clouding her mind. "You drank half a gallon of Emerald Cruisers."

"I'll admit - I had a problem."

"You knocked out and drooled all over the-"

"Shhshhh," He shushed, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. He released his hands from her face, and let it fall to her waist, pulling her close. He was surprised that she even let him do that, and he made a note to pinch himself later - wouldn't want to go through this madness only for it to be all a dream. "I'm trying to be romantic." He said almost jokingly, although he was suddenly afraid of her thinking that he wasn't taking this seriously.

Elphaba was frowning deeply at him, but she made no move to push him away - not physically anyway. Instead, she looked like she were ready to cry - and it scared him. Fiyero had never seen her so small before, and he hated that he made her feel this way. He leaned down and kissed her above her furrowed brows, speaking softly in her ear, telling her that his feelings weren't going to go away. He wasn't sure how many times he repeated it, but each time he said it, he could only hope that she would finally believe it.

Baby steps.

Just little, green, baby steps.

* * *

 **A/N** 21 chapters seemed like it was long enough :)

LifelongLeahstar - Glad you liked it!

Guest - Here it is! Thanks for sticking around!

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - Glad you liked the chapter! And finally, it happened! :P

Indy's Green Hat - You'll find out soon enough haha! Fiyero likes to keep the jokes he didn't get to use :P

Guestie - Glad you enjoyed them!

AJeff - Wow! I'm really glad you've enjoyed the story so far haha! I really flattered :) Hope this chapter didn't disappoint!


	22. Chapter 22

**22.**

He tapped his pen against the table impatiently.

There were 5 other men in the meeting room, which was decorated with store bought modern art, and in front of each of them was a plastic folder with the words 'confidential' printed on the top right hand corner.

The only delightful smells in the room were of stale coffee and carpet that needed to be fumigated, and in addition to what he had just read from the file – today wasn't going to be a very good day.

A knock came from the door and Baldr Tiggular and a few other men stepped in – one of them being his brother, Fiyero. Baldr took the seat at the head of the table, and Fiyero sat dutifully next to him. Thaddeus had always wondered how these two men could've come from the same mother.

He had first met Baldr when Arjiki Tradings contracted his firm for the construction of their regional offices. Subsequently, they became the sole architectural and construction firm working on major projects for Arjiki in the EC area – but that was a story for another time. At this moment, he could only think about how _different_ the two Tiggular brothers were.

Baldr was a serious man, even when he was among friends. There was hardly a time where Thaddeus had seen the man smile. And then next to him was Fiyero, only a few years younger, but so very different. Fiyero was charming, irritatingly good looking, and he couldn't be taken seriously. Sure, people loved him. They loved to talk to him, and they loved to party with him – but when it came to things that actually mattered, they would turn to Baldr.

Ted liked Fiyero, of course. He had to. Fiyero was a Tiggular, and he's very well connected. It would be stupid not to keep him around.

The meeting commenced, and Baldr began talking about the state of the business. Thaddeus found it hard to concentrate when his train of thought seemed to be derailing to things that didn't matter. He observed Fiyero, noticing for the first time that he actually seemed to be taking this meeting seriously.

There had been a time, not too long ago, where it was easy to tell that Fiyero didn't want to be around. He would be texting under the table, doodling on some paper or just staring blankly into his coffee mug – a whole lot like Avaric Tenmeadews actually.

But now.

Now, Fiyero was actually sitting attentively, listening to what his brother had to say and even jumping in to clarify certain points. He explained that the current stance of the company, in light of Grizzle Tech's new partnership with Tenmeadews Corp, was that Arjiki would see it as a conflict of interest if Thaddeus' firm continued to work with Grizzle to build that new campus in the lower business district.

There's tension in the business scene right now, and they were sitting right in the middle of the cross fire.

"With all due respect, Fiyero," Thaddeus said with a small wave of his finger, grabbing their attention. "I don't see why we can't work with Grizzle. We, here, at Soloman & Company – we work on individual contracts with Arjiki, which are totally separate entities on their own. We're 'freelance' as you say, and we're not obligated to limit our business to Arjiki Tradings – as much as we'd love to."

Immediately after hearing that, Thaddeus noticed Fiyero's lips tightening – which was quickly turned into a polite smile.

"He's right. Our company's business is our own, and it really shouldn't be a problem with Arjiki if we're contracted to build Grizzle's campus." One of Thaddeus' colleagues added impatiently. "We understand that there's a turf war happening with the 'Big Three', but we're not a part of that. We're an outside contractor."

There were murmurs of agreement on their side, and stern frowns on the other side.

Baldr, in particular, seemed even stonier than usual.

"Arjiki understands that, of course." He said politically, "We wouldn't want our trusted partners to think that we're imposing. But the problem that we have now is that we find that we cannot work with contractors who are also working with our major rivals."

Thaddeus was about to speak when Fiyero cut right in. He felt the words right on the tip of his tongue, but bit them back – feeling _slightly_ annoyed.

"—we're not telling Soloman & Company to do anything. We're not in that kind of relationship, and neither are we in the position to _tell_ your company to do stuff. We understand that, absolutely. We would never insult our trusted partners in that way."

Fiyero spoke smoothly. His confidence, and the magnetic charisma that he possessed, commanded the attention of everyone in the room. There was just something about the way that he spoke that rubbed Thaddeus the wrong way however… It _irritated_ him.

"The only point we're making today is that these are our concerns – we think that our companies have a conflict of interest in the type of businesses we associate ourselves with, and our move is that if Grizzle is the type of company that Soloman does business with, then Arjiki Tradings would like to formally terminate all on-going projects and any and all contracts that we may have notarized."

Angry murmurs came from Soloman's side of the room, and Thaddeus found himself clenching his jaw. His lips were set in a thin line, and he didn't think that he was glaring, per say, but it might look like that on the surface.

Baldr Tiggular was giving a look to Fiyero – like a brotherly pat on the back, and he supposed that nobody else noticed. Fiyero allowed himself a small smile that Thaddeus preferred to process as a smirk – it seemed more like Fiyero Tiggular to _smirk_.

Maybe it was just the anger, but right now, he didn't really appreciate what was happening across that table.

And just why was Elphaba associating herself with this man anyway? He's been hearing all this chatter about Elphaba being in the same circle as Fiyero, and it just seemed so ridiculous. She was a scholarly type like himself, serious about their work and careers – very much unlike the type of person Fiyero Tiggular was.

She hasn't returned any of his phone calls, unfortunately, but he was sure that he could win her back. Thaddeus wasn't going to lie to himself – he's already in his mid-thirties. If he was going to have a stable family before he turned to dust – especially as a quadling man in the Emerald City – his chances were best with Elphaba.

She was a lot like him, and now, she's a success in her own field. It's inspiring, really. The little green girl whom everybody avoided and picked on as a child was now a leader in the business world. If she so much as willed it, Elphaba could have the entire Land of Oz eating out of the palm of her hand.

And it was these exact thoughts that came to him when he had so incidentally bumped into her at that diner all those months ago – when he was at his lowest, and she was sitting right there, waiting.

"It's just business, Thaddeus." Baldr said to him, later after the meeting had concluded. The vinkun almost seemed like he had aged 10 years since the beginning of the quarter. "You know how it is."

"I understand that entirely, of course." Ted replied with a friendly chuckle. "Just business."

"I hope that this doesn't affect our personal relationship." Baldr said seriously as he placed a hand on Thaddeus' back.

"No! Nothing of the sort." Ted said, feigning politeness – repressing the urge to swat Baldr's hand away from himself. "We're sorry to have lost such a big client, of course, but that's the cost of business. You and I, though. I value our friendship, Baldr."

"Right."

"Baldr. We've got another one coming up in 20 minutes. Let's vamoose—"

Thaddeus turned around, only to come face to face with the younger Tiggular. Handsome, charming, and born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Oz damn, he hated him.

Forget the casual acquaintanceship he had with this man – this guy just cost him his yearend bonus.

"Oh hey." Fiyero greeted, and reached out with a hand. Thaddeus took it reluctantly. "Sorry about what happened in there. It's just busine—"

"—yes, just business. I was just talking to your brother about it." Thaddeus smiled widely. "How are you, by the way? The last we met was at your Lurlinemas party."

"Oh. Uh. I've been good." Fiyero shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded conversationally, "It's been a tight few months, but I've had a pretty good week. Oh, but I guess it would sound like I'm boasting, I think. Especially after the meeting we just had… Bummer, huh."

Ted smiled with a twitch on his brow.

"Ah yes – _bummer_." He said, trying to hide away the sarcasm. All those years of work, and all those billion dollar contracts. Gone. _Bummer_ , huh.

"Right. Hey, it's been great seeing you again, unfortunately, Baldr and I sort of have a thing to attend to." He spoke hurriedly, and patted Thaddeus on the arm, "Hope everything works out for you."

"Right, of course."

Baldr shook his hand, very briefly, and then Thaddeus was left to watch the Tiggular brothers walk away. The words 'pissed off' doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of how he felt right this moment.

* * *

A few days ago, Fiyero kissed Elphaba.

And after that happened, Elphaba kissed Fiyero.

Madness ensued, naturally. Elphaba got defensive, and Fiyero got mad. The gym was cold and it was noted that it was pouring outside that night. Everything about that night remained a mystery to both of them. Why had Fiyero felt the urge to call her down in the dead of night? Why had she finally decided to take that plunge with him?

They both came to an agreement that it didn't _matter_.

Not to him anyway.

For her, she decided that she was simply too tired to fight it off any longer.

Were they _dating_?

She supposed… She wasn't going to slap a label onto it. It just felt too weird.

For some reason, Fiyero seemed happy enough that she had finally allowed him to show affection for her. There was a constant flipping sensation in the pit of her stomach that could either be actual butterflies, or she might've accidentally swallowed a tiny person who was doing summersaults in her stomach in an attempt to get her to throw him up.

After that night – which ended with Fiyero sending her home in his car – she realized that everything had changed. When she woke up in the morning, she had almost expected Fiyero to be in bed right next to her. And when she stepped into her kitchenette to make some coffee, she found herself wondering if he was up as well.

* * *

"You look different." Boq said with a raised brow as Elphaba stepped into her office with a cup of steaming hot tea in her hands. She looked at him with her lips falling ajar.

"You're back." She observed.

"Yeah, I'm back." Boq replied, in a tone that implied that she had just said something stupid. "It's Thursday. I was back in the city since Wednesday afternoon."

"And you've got hair still. I thought they made the soldier boys shave their heads." She said as she approached her desk, shaking off the last bits of surprise.

"You're thinking about the actual soliders. I told you, I only did paperwork for the army. I've never even seen the training fields, much less held a rifle. Why'd you think I got to keep my hair in college?" Boq scoffed as he walked over to the seat opposite to Elphaba's desk and sat down. "Anyway, I got word that Arjiki just went through a major sweep of their contractors and found out that a whole bunch of their sub-contractors were doing work for Grizzle as well."

"Really now?" Elphaba seemed intrigued as she took a tentative sip of her tea. She made her way to her seat and powered up her computer.

"Yup. And from what I saw from the reports I got Collins to put together, at least 2 major contractors were released this week. Soloman & Company, and Richfield Logistics."

"Soloman?"

Boq nodded. "Arjiki found out that they were the main contractors who were slated to build the new Grizzle campus in the lower business district." He then made slashing noises for dramatic effect, "they're cutting over 20 projects they've signed with Soloman – covering the early termination fees and everything. Looks like the Tiggular boys were serious about keeping their house clean despite the cost huh."

At the mention of the Tiggulars, Boq noticed that the corner of Elphaba's brow seemed to twitch, and her eyes flickered over to the building opposite to theirs for just a fraction of a second. Curious.

He leaned his elbow on the arm of the chair. "Say – I don't know if you've noticed but I think that Fiyero might've had a thing for you."

Elphaba froze up and cautiously began to side stepped from the subject. "'Wh…at makes you say that?"

"Just little things." Boq shrugged while chewing on his lower lip distractedly, "He smiles a lot at you."

He stood from his seat and walked over to the window, feeling Elphaba's eyes following him. "Initially, I thought it impossible – but the two of you really do sort of talk in your own secret language… Plus I've seen weirder pairings." He shrugged casually, "You should think about it."

In the office directly across the street from them sat a particular vinkun CFO, who seemed to be on the phone with someone, hard at work – something that people didn't usually see in Fiyero.

"Y'know. I think Glinda called it before I did... Ah well, none of my business anyway." Boq said as he scrunched his nose. In a quick attempt to change the subject, he gestured towards Elphaba's computer. "Have you seen the photos she put up on her ozbook?"

"You know I don't use those things."

"Can't stop, won't stop – you can't judge me." He said with a flair, "Her little thing with the investment banker's going pretty well, don't you think? I mean, he's a little _older_ , but he seems pretty nice. Took her out on a balloon ride and she went photo-crazy. There were 50 pictures of the Emerald City skyline on her ozbook last I checked."

"As long as she's happy..." Elphaba replied blandly. "But really? 50?"

Boq nodded, "He gets her."

"Ah well," Elphaba sighed and her attention seemed to have drifted somewhere else, "Aside from gossip, have you got anything else to do in my office?"

Boq scoffed indignantly, "I came in with valuable information – you oughtta treat me better."

"You mean the ginger candies you keep stealing off my desk aren't compensation enough?"

"Y'know, if you weren't so much bigger than me…"

* * *

Thaddeus made his move and slowly, determinedly, stepped towards the receptionist. The floor of the Thropp Building was made of cold, creamy marble – entirely extravagant. Something that was a bit of a habit for old Peerless Thropp. The pillars reflected the same grandness, while the building was surrounded by giant, glass windows that allowed him to see everything outside.

It was a very nice building, and Thaddeus could appreciate that much.

"Hello." He said when he reached the pretty blonde gillikinese girl who sat behind the receptionist's desk, and he put on his best smile. "I'm here for an appointment with Elphaba Thropp?"

"You'll have to sign in," the girl put on a smile of her own and handed him a pen and a clipboard. Hundreds of names are already on the small stack of papers.

Thaddeus quickly, and smoothly, signed his name and initials. When he was given a guest pass to get across the security gantry, he thanked the girl and made his way towards the lift lobby.

It was a sleepy afternoon, admittedly, and he didn't really have an appointment with Elphaba. He just said so to get in. Really, he simply wanted to see her again, after having all of his messages and calls avoided. He wasn't so daft as to not get the hint, but after sitting on it for a while, he decided that she was too important for him to lose.

The lift finally arrived, and a familiar voice startled him.

"Oh! Teddy Huntley!"

It was Fiyero Tiggular, who was now grinning at him with those stupid, perfectly straight pearly whites of his. He was fairly dressed down – no suit jacket, just a white Karen Ozmaz dress shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, and a loosened Arimini silk tie. Next to the russet haired vinkun was the woman Thaddeus had wanted to meet.

Elphaba was staring at him with wide, hazel eyes. She was standing uncomfortably close to Fiyero – or at least, he was to her – and dressed nicely in a body hugging navy blue blouse and black skirt… He didn't recognize the brand, but it didn't look like any of the high end brands.

What were they doing together? He hadn't even seen Fiyero's name in the registry.

Realizing that he had been staring at the two of them for far too long to be polite, Thaddeus broke into a laugh, and shook his head – looking appropriately embarrassed.

"Ah! Fiyero… I was just looking for Elphaba actually." His eyes flickered over to a slightly frowning Elphaba, and then he glanced back at Fiyero, "Are you two headed out to lunch?"

Fiyero nodded, still smiling. "Fillidor's, from the Ruby District."

"All the way to the Ruby District today?" Thaddeus laughed harshly, and flinched, because it had been unintended. "Ah, special day?"

"Nothing of the sort." Elphaba mumbled under her breath, and Fiyero raised a brow at her, looking amused.

"It's a ma and pa sort of establishment, and a friend of a friend recommended it. I wanted to try it today, so I came over and dragged her along with me." Fiyero laughed. The lift doors then suddenly attempted to close on them, and he quickly ushered Elphaba out. Thaddeus didn't miss the fact that the vinkun had his hand gently stroking on the small of Elphaba's back.

"We should get going." Elphaba said suddenly, and her eyes narrowed at Thaddeus. "If it' important. Leave it with Boq. He sits outside my office."

"Actually, it's fairly important that I speak to you personally." Thaddeus implored.

Elphaba looked him over, and he found himself straightening his back. She then sighed, as if exasperated. "Make an appointment then, like everyone else." She then pushed at Fiyero to get a move on. "I've got a lot on my plate, Thaddeus… It's not like I'm back in college again."

Thaddeus then watched as Fiyero cocked his brow curiously, but said nothing as he allowed Elphaba to lead them away. He felt something hot rise from his stomach to his chest and forced it down, trying to calm himself and to make sense of what had just happened.

Fiyero Tiggular and Elphie?

Unexpected, definitely, knowing how irritable Elphaba could be, especially around idiots like Tiggular. He watched as they disappeared from sight – together – and it irked him… The 'ding' that came from the lift startled him again, and he was brought back to the here and now.

He would be making that appointment, and talking to this… 'Boq'. The name sounded familiar, but he could hardly remember most people who even worked in his firm. So he kept his thoughts to himself as he stepped into the lift and pressed the button, letting the doors clamp shut.

* * *

"So… How do you know Teddy Huntley?" Fiyero finally broke the silence as he started the car and began to pull them out of the parking space.

Elphaba looked over to him, and then in front of her, and a few moments later, she looked back at him. She wasn't quite sure how to say it, except to tell him exactly what it was. "… We used to… be together."

His forest green eyes widened slightly as he drove them out of the parking lot, but he didn't look particularly upset. Not yet anyway.

"Was it serious?" He asked, pursing his lips.

"Fairly." She admitted.

Fiyero grumbled, and turned to look at her, and then his expression seemed to soften as he looked back at the road. "He's T.H." He said. "From that book."

"He gave me that book, yes." Elphaba groaned, flushing slightly. "But really, I just had a fondness for Austen's work."

For a few moments, Fiyero was silent. But after a little while, he began cackling.

"Pfff-hee hee hee," he chuckled giddily. "You're a Darcy girl. You like to read Pride & Prejudice."

Elphaba glared at him, horrified at his response to her confession – and also horrified that she had somehow caught romantic feelings for this giggling, handsome, idiot. When he was finally done laughing at her, Fiyero suddenly became uncharacteristically serious.

"… I'll kick his ass, y'know, if he tries slinking back again."

She felt a warm surge of affection for him, and tried very hard not to smile – which really just resulted in the corner of her lips twitching slightly. At the red light, Fiyero took one of her hands and kissed the knuckle. He didn't release it, and simply held it until he need both his hands to drive again.

* * *

Lunch, that day, was great.

Elphaba made her usual dry, sarcastic jokes, and Fiyero found himself unable to stop smiling. He dated many women before that, but he'd never felt like this when he was with them – not even Glinda. Right now, he genuinely felt like he finally 'got the girl'.

They don't talk about who they were to each other, no, they wouldn't touch that topic with a ten foot pole, but he was fairly confident of where they stood. It wasn't as if Elphaba was the type to go around gallivanting – and she had to know by now that he had become completely enamoured with her.

Walking out from the family restaurant, Fiyero felt emboldened by how well lunch had gone, and he slipped his hand into hers – urging her to walk down the street with him with their fingers intertwined. He could see the horror on Elphaba's face, but she didn't say much as she shyly tightened her grip on his hand.

This was the Ruby District – far, _far_ away from the business central. Nobody they knew would be around for miles – especially not in the middle of the day when they were supposed to be in their offices.

An elderly quadling busker was strumming his guitar quietly, and allowing the music to fill the streets. He certainly wasn't trying very hard, but it was a nice tune, and Elphaba seemed to be enjoying herself. So he tossed a 50 into his open guitar case, which was sparsely littered with a few 10s and 5s.

"How generous," Elphaba raised a brow at him, quirking a rare smile. Just with that, Fiyero already felt that it had been worth it.

"What are you talking about? I'm always generous." He retorted mock-arrogantly. He wasn't too far off however with his gloating - he never gave less than a 20 when he passed by a particularly talented busker.

Elphaba snorted at him, and continued listening to the old quadling – her hand never letting go of his as they stood there together for a little while.

* * *

Boq let the sound of telephone ringing fade into the background as he sucked on a ginger candy that he stole from Elphaba's pantry, and he stared at the reports that came pouring in. Occasionally, his eyes found themselves wandering over to the bullpen, and it was hard to miss how Milla seemed to turn away from him, embarrassed that she had been caught looking.

He supposed that he should be flattered, seeing how he used to be the one doing that, but the flighty feeling in his chest had gone away. He still thought she was pretty, of course, but it just didn't feel right anymore – and Milla wasn't being quite herself either.

She had been stressed lately, he could tell that much. Too often, he'd caught her getting distracted during meetings, and her reports had been lacklustre at best. She was fairly new in the company, so he wouldn't hold it against her to get overwhelmed by how fast Thropp Co. moved when it came to the season – but she'd have to buck up, or he'll have to have a word with her.

He certainly didn't want her to leave, but work was work, and business was business.

A familiar looking man arrived from the lift lobby, and he made straight for Boq's desk – not even stopping by the receptionist's table.

The munchkin frowned slightly and stood up, straightening his tie as he tried to recall where he'd seen this man. He didn't know many quadlings.

"Hello," Boq greeted, confused, "Can I help you?"

The man raised his brows and looked surprised, his steel, grey eyes widening. "Ah… You're Boq? As in, Boq from Fiyero Tiggular's party?"

Boq coiled back in astonishment and raked his brain for anything that could help identify this man – who certainly seemed to know him. "Y-Yes, uhm," he reached out awkwardly with a hand, and the quadling took it, shaking firmly.

"Thaddeus Huntley, from Soloman."

…

… Right! That Teacher's Assistant who was involved with Elphaba when they were in Shiz!

"Oh! Hello!" Boq beamed as he glanced around nervously, "Uhm, can I help you, Mr Huntley?"

Thaddeus wiped his hands on his trousers, looking uncomfortable at the noise from the bullpen. Phones were ringing constantly, and everyone was busy with one thing or another. If Thaddeus was here for Elphaba, she certainly dodged the bullet.

"I need to schedule an appointment with Elphaba." He said.

Baffled, Boq picked up his yellow note pad and a pen, "Al…right?" He blinked blankly at Thaddeus, "… You came all the way down here to schedule an appointment, Mr Huntley?"

The quadling looked frustrated, and shrugged, "To be honest, I bumped into her and Fiyero Tiggular at the lift lobby down stairs… She told me to book a meeting with her if I wanted to talk to her."

Boq felt pretty bad for the man, but it wasn't any of his business what happened between Elphaba and Huntley. If Elphie decided that she would rather hang out with Fiyero than to talk to Thaddeus, then it was her prerogative.

He quickly checked through Elphaba schedule, and found that she was booked solid until 2 weeks from now – seeing that the end of the financial year was coming in 2 months… And knowing what happened with Soloman and Arjiki Tradings, it felt to Boq that this wasn't going to be a business meeting at all.

"Elphie won't be free until 2 weeks from now." Boq explained lamentably. "Could I know what this meeting would be about? Maybe I could shift somethings around for her."

Thaddeus considered it for a little while, but finally shook his head, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "It's fine. Thanks for trying."

With that, Huntley was gone.

Boq stared after the qualding and frowned, feeling a little bewildered by the exchange. Somewhere in the bullpen, Milla raised a brow and pondered over the ramifications of that mysterious conversation… and how important it could be to her employers that Thaddeus Huntley from Soloman's had come all the way to the Thropp offices to talk to Elphaba, only to be turned away.

* * *

 **A/N** Not much from Fiyero and Elphaba's POV, but that would be rectified in the next chapter ;) I've never been too good with writing fluff, so bear with me! And I'd just like to say that it's pretty cool that we've gotten nearly 160 reviews at this point, and pretty excited at the prospects of getting to 200 by the end of the story, haha! Thanks for all the support, Wicked Peeps ;) It's been super fun writing for you guys.

AstridElsa99 - YAY!

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - True! Fiyeraba conquers all! :) Now it's time for the fluff! All of the fluff!

LifelongLeahstar - Hahaha! It's humid in a gym, and after all that benchpressing, they're both a little hot and bothered :P

AJeff - Thanks! I'm really glad you enjoyed it! :)

Guest - Awesomesauce!

ThePhantomoftheOpera01 - And it's here! More to come in the next few chapters!

Mother yackel - I'm glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully she doesn't do too much damage before they begin flushing out the corporate spies :P


	23. Chapter 23

**23.**

On a Saturday morning, Elphaba awoke to the sound of her phone vibrating noisily on her bedside table – but what startled her was the movement coming from beneath her sheets.

Fiyero crawled up groggily and laid his head on the pillow next to her, groaning and mumbling something incoherent. His russet colored hair was sticking out in multiple directions, and it seemed to her that he was – at the very least – topless under the blanket.

Slowly, it all came back to her.

They weren't doing anything _indecent_ , but it had rained all night yesterday, and Fiyero – being the idiot that he was – had parked his car a few blocks away from her apartment because he wanted to walk with her. By the time they'd reached her lobby, they were both soaked to the bone. It was only then that Elphaba let him stay over… Although, she recalled telling him to sleep on the couch.

…

Sneaky bastard.

"Get up," she thwacked at him as she sat up from her bed, "My leg is asleep."

Fiyero whined and rolled over, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "It's Saturday… I get to sleep in on Saturdays…"

"Not in my bed, you're not." She rolled her eyes as she fought to pull her eyes away from his chiseled chest and rippling muscles. It was too late, however, and Fiyero opened one eye at her and smirked.

"Like what you see?" He said as he wriggled his brow.

Elphaba scoffed, and slipped out of her bed, stretching. She could feel his eyes watching her, and suddenly, she felt her cheeks heat up. Turning back to her bed, she narrowed her eyes at him, "I thought I left you on my couch? How'd you end up in there?" She gestured at the mess in her bed.

Fiyero shrugged, laughing. "I could hear you tossing and turning, so I came in to check on you."

"And then you conveniently climbed into bed with me?" She folded her arms across her chest, trying hard not to seem bemused. "I'm on good grounds to kick you out of my apartment."

"But you can't! You adore me too much."

He grinned widely at her, and she could only roll her eyes, and his smile had only grown wider when he realized that she didn't have any retort to that. Elphaba piled her blanket on top of him and rolled out of bed, knowing that if she didn't get out of there, it wouldn't be just _him_ who's lying around with no shirt on.

* * *

Coffee was made, and they made sandwiches out of some leftovers that Elphaba had in her fridge – which was rare, because she hardly ever ate in her own apartment. She made him throw on his shirt and he did so reluctantly, but not without taking the time to flex every muscle on his torso before he covered them up.

She'd had that ridiculous image burned into her brain – although, admittedly, that's not a particularly bad thing.

The tv was then switched on, and the two of them sat together on the couch, not quite touching, but relaxed and happy. Fiyero switched it to the sports channel – something that she didn't know she was even subscribed to – and they watched last weekend's hockey game play out on the screen.

To be honest, she was still waiting for Fiyero to realize how boring this all was, and he'll just up and leave like she predicted. But he was still here, and he was stuffing his face with an avocado faux-turkey sandwich. She couldn't quite imagine him doing the same tv/sandwich morning routine with Glinda – knowing that Glinda was the sort of person who felt the constant need to fill the silence with talk and activity. She could hardly ever get her best friend to sit still long enough to finish a half hour tv show.

Fiyero yelled something at the tv when someone from the right wing on the munchkin team rammed up against the defensemen from the vinkun team. He bit off another chunk of his sandwich in frustration and chewed ungracefully.

She raised a brow at him, amused.

How could he still look so good even as his cheeks were puffed with the large mouthful of bread he just bit off of the sandwich?

He seemed to notice her observing him, and his small frown upturned into a wide smile – not knowing what dangerous thoughts she was having. She didn't really know what to do with that look of adoration on his face – it stirred something deep in her core in a very pleasant way, but at the same time, she was intimidated and scared by it.

"Have you seen Glinda's new Ozbook pictures?" He asked suddenly, turning the volume down on the tv and shifting closer to her. Elphaba shook her head.

"How many times do I have to tell you people that I don't use things like that?" She asked, confused.

"You people?" Fiyero laughed and scooted in closer to her.

"You and Boq." She said matter-of-factly.

"Life is meant to be shared," he said as he leaned back into the couch and stretched, grinning. "Besides, they've got games up there."

"You were talking about Glinda's Ozbook?" She couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips as she said that, trying to move the conversation along.

Fiyero perked up and grabbed his phone, tapping on the app icon and scrolling down to Glinda's photo albums. When he showed it to Elphaba, she felt her brows rise slowly.

"Well that's…" She wasn't sure how to finish that sentence.

"I mean, I'm glad that they're happy at least." Fiyero chuckled giddily as Elphaba leaned in closer to take a look. She felt his arm rest lightly on her shoulder, and decided that she didn't really mind it.

"Do they post this sort of things often?" She asked, slightly concerned. She haven't had the chance to spend much time with Glinda, especially after the blonde had started dating her investment banker beau. Elphaba didn't hold it against her though – Glinda deserved to be happy.

"Oh, boy do they," Fiyero smirked. "They might actually be on a quest to make-out on every tourist location in the Emerald City."

At this, Elphaba laughed – not because of how absurd that would be, but because of how entirely plausible it was. It just seemed like something that Glinda would approve of.

Fiyero continued scrolling down the app in amusement, "Chuffrey's good for her." He said amiably, "It helps that he's plenty loaded of course… Glin's great, and really sweet, but…" He trailed off, side-eyeing Elphaba, who snorted and cackled.

They spent the rest of the morning watching hockey, and by lunch time, Elphaba had decided that she would do some work in her home office. She gave Fiyero 2 choices – go home and finally get his laundry done (since he's been complaining all week), or, he could go find Boq, who was attending a poetry reading at a café in the neighbourhood.

Either way, she wanted him out of her apartment.

There was no reason she would want to keep him around… Frankly, he was much too distracting, and for every minute that he spent here with her, she grew warmer and warmer to the idea of taking him into her room – and she wasn't quite emotionally ready for that yet.

She didn't have much work to do, honestly. Just some light reading.

Fiyero seemed to sense that, and he frowned at her dramatically, whining continuously until she picked up a pillow from her couch and threw it straight at his head. He dodged it, of course, but he got the message.

He stood by the door while Elphaba crossed her arms across her chest, leaning slightly on the frame.

"Monday?" He asked, sounding resigned.

Elphaba sighed, and nodded slightly. They would be having lunch together on Monday – a vinkun restaurant in the upper districts. "Keys? Wallet? Phone?" She reminded him.

"Got'em."

"Alright, by—"

Before she could get her words out, he closed the distance between them and pushed his lips against hers… He tasted of sweet orange juice, the one he finished off from her fridge just 5 minutes ago. Elphaba's mind didn't linger too long on that, of course, as she felt herself push back against him – almost excitedly. Fiyero's hands slipped around her waist, holding her close.

When he pulled away, they were dizzied and out of breath.

He grinned at her, and winked. "See you Monday."

* * *

Monday came around fast enough, and Boq found himself staring at his screen, groaning at the sheer number of emails that had piled up over the weekend.

Very often, when it got to spring, Boq considered dumping the corporate life and flying back home to Central Munch. Sure, it meant having to help out with the family farm, but at least he wouldn't have to stare at emails.

The bullpen was duller than usual today.

Half the Business Strategies crew had fallen ill over the weekend thanks to that skinny intern who was too afraid of losing his job to take a sick day. The intern was fine now, but with the office working at half strength today, he sat at his desk – bored out of his mind.

Boq checked his watch – a shiny new Truduex stainless steel masterpiece – and groaned again. It was closing in to 11.15am and Elphaba haven't come in yet. Part of him wondered if she had overslept… She did that often when they were in Shiz after all. The late nights studying and cramming led to a sporadic sleep schedule. She hasn't done that in years though.

Curious, he fished out his phone and went to his contact list, finding Glinda's name, and tapping on it to call. After a few rings, she picked up.

"Hey you!" She greeted cheerfully. There was the distinct sound of traffic in the background.

"Hey… Are you out?" He asked, confused, checking his watch again.

"I am! Just had a breakfast meeting with some of our business partners." There was a short pause and it sounded like she was crossing the road. "So what's up?"

"Ah nothing much… Just wanted to ask if you knew where Elphie could've gone." He admitted as he mindlessly scrolled through the pages of emails he had to go through today. "It's a quarter past 11 and she still hasn't clocked in."

"Have you checked with Fiyero?" Glinda asked.

Boq paused, and considered. His eyes flicked over to Elphaba's office door and he stood from his seat and walked over, peeking his head inside, and then slowly slipping into the empty room.

"Hold on a sec."

He closed the door quietly behind him and stepped over to the window. On the opposite side of the street, in the Arjiki building, was an equally empty CFO office.

"He's not in his office." He spoke curiously into his phone and placed his free hand on his hip. Glinda sounded like she was giggling into her phone, and Boq felt a little left out. "Why? What did I miss?"

"Nothing. Just… Maybe you should give him a call."

Boq scratched the back of his head, confused. His eyes scanned Fiyero's office yet another time, "Not sure where you're going with this but alright?"

He hung up, and called Fiyero. After three rings, the vinkun picked up.

"What's up, my well-dressed munchkin friend?"

"Hey," he stepped over to Elphaba's pantry and picked up a ginger candy. "You happen to know where Elphie's at?"

"Oh! Yeah, she's right next to me, did you need something?"

There was some mumbling and shuffling from the other end of the line, and Boq blinked blankly. "Ah… Just wondering, because I usually get a memo when she doesn't come in for work."

There was more mumbling, and this time Boq thought that he heard Elphaba complaining about Fiyero for making her late. Fiyero whined back, but Boq could tell that Elphie was winning. At this point, Boq wondered.

Why had Elphie been with Fiyero? Why were they meeting up this early in the day? Why wasn't _he_ invited? What was up with them going out for lunch so frequently nowadays? What was Fiyero in Elphie's neighborhood yesterday?

Honestly, Boq hadn't thought much about why Fiyero had just happened to be nearby yesterday at that café… Until now.

Finally, the vinkun was back on the phone.

"… You probably heard that." He laughed awkwardly. "She'll be in after lunch."

"Riiiiight."

"Mmhmm."

There was an extended silence before Fiyero coughed and spoke, "So… Have a good one."

"Mmmmhmm."

And then the call went dead.

Boq pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it, as if it was the first time he was seeing it. There were many, _many_ thoughts going through his head right now, and all of them were confusing. He'd figured that Fiyero had a thing for Elphie, but he never really thought that she would really give him the time of day – sure he suggested it to her just the other day, but really, he didn't think that she was actually listening to him.

Just that imagery of Elphaba and Fiyero together made his head spin. He stepped out of the office and back to his desk, only to find his landline ringing shrilly. He picked it up reluctantly and greeted.

"Elphaba Thropp's office."

"This is Avaric Tenmeadew's office. Mr Tenmeadews is requesting to meet Miss Thropp this evening to relay some important information."

The voice on the other line was sweet, almost grossly so, and it was painfully clear that she was faking it. Boq scrambled to check Elphaba's day planner and noted that she was, actually, free tonight. He wasn't too sure how happy she would be when she heard that it would be a meeting with Avaric though.

"Sure, Ephie's free tonight. Time and place?"

His eyes wandered for a bit while Avaric's secretary gave him the details, and he noticed that Milla seemed to peek over her desk and she flushed when she realized that he saw her looking.

"Right, thank you." He said hurriedly and hung up, not really caring about what the girl had to say. He sat down on his seat and pretended to adjust, using this as an opportunity to glance over to Milla. She looked like she was focused on her work, but Boq began to wonder.

Maybe it was time to do a little over time tonight.

* * *

At 7.15pm, Elphaba groaned as she leaned back on her chair, listening to the quiet hum of her computer. She had a last minute dinner meeting with Avaric, and it bummed her out immensely. She had already met up with him more times in the last couple of months than she had interactions with him when they attended the same classes in boarding school.

Quickly, she shut off her computer and let the humming die down before she turned her chair to the window and curiously looked over to the other side of the street. There was nobody in his office, but she could see a pile of files on top of his desk – he mentioned this morning that those were coming along.

It was… _nice_ , that he seemed to become more serious about his work – he even said it himself, and Elphaba had to admit that she'd felt more relaxed since she had… accepted him. Being with him brought out something stable between them. If she were being sentimental, she'd have to say that it almost felt like she were coming home.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated, and she knew that it was the alarm Boq set to remind her of her meeting. She checked it, and cursed under her breath when she realized that she was going to be late.

10 minutes later, Elphaba found herself in her car, being driven to an upscale restaurant in the Central Emerald District. It was a fantastically high-end Gillikinese restaurant that often required bookings 3 months in advance before one could even get a table – Elphaba had only known this because Glinda had complained about not being able to get a table there for her birthday dinner last year.

When she stepped out, people who were lining up outside, stared blatantly. She began to hear her name in their whispers, and just like every other time people gawked, Elphaba ignored – or at least, she tried to.

As if summoned by magic, the maître d' rushed out of the restaurant and immediately greeted her enthusiastically. He was a sprightly middle aged man, clearly well-groomed and had smoothed back, platinum blond hair.

" _Bonjour!_ " the maître d' grinned brightly as he ushered Elphaba inside, he spoke in a thick native gillikinese accent that would've been considered _tacky_ by most people… He felt almost like a cartoon instead of a real person. " _Comment allez-vous cette belle soirée, Mademoiselle?_ "

If Elphaba could still rely on her very basic grasp of native gillikinese, she figured that he had just asked how she were this evening – so she simply replied, "I'm good, thanks."

The maître d' grinned even wider and politely showed her to the private booth where Avaric had already made himself comfortable… And sitting next to Avaric was a very stern looking Baldr Tiggular.

Stunned was an understatement as she blinked blankly at both men, and she had forgotten to enter the booth. She stood by the maître d, who was looking increasingly distressed by her lack of movement, and Avaric simply raised a brow at her, smirking slightly.

"You look like you've seen a ghost, Miss Elphaba." He laughed meanly and took a sip of his full-bodied red wine.

Baldr was a tad more polite than Avaric as he offered up an empty seat. "We've got a lot to discuss tonight."

* * *

"Their caviar's pretty good here, you should give it a try."

Avaric scooped up his food and jutted it rudely at an exhausted looking Baldr. Elphaba glared at Avaric's antics, but said nothing. Baldr simply shook his head and ate his food in silence. It was Tenmeadews who decided for them that they would have dinner first before they discussed business.

For Elphaba, it was a double layer of weirdness for her. She had never seen Avaric and Baldr in close proximities before. They were two different sets of personalities that simply didn't seem to exist in the same universe. And also, ever since she and Fiyero had known and met each other, she had found every excuse to _not_ have to talk to Baldr unless absolutely necessary.

"—What about you, Elphie dear. Are you more of a quadling girl, or have you got the taste for vinkun?"

At this, Elphaba coiled back in horror. She haven't been following what Avaric had been blabbering about, but under Baldr's scrutiny, she felt a shudder run down her spine.

"I'm sorry, what were you talking about?" She asked, barely getting the question out without her voice cracking.

Avaric chewed his food meaningfully and swallowed.

"Quadling cuisine or vinkun? I had you pegged for vinkun." He said, and there was a tiny flash in his bright blue eyes that irritated Elphaba.

"None of your business, Avaric." She said finally, rolling her eyes at him and not really caring that Baldr was here to witness that. Avaric burst into laughter and shrugged.

Baldr seemed thoroughly confused at their exchange, and Elphaba preferred that it remained that way. The last thing she needed was for Fiyero's elder brother to find out that she used to go to school with this absolute goose.

Finally, after a little while, they were all finished, and their plates were cleared, leaving only three glasses of wine on the table. Baldr was the first to broach the subject.

"I'm sure you must be confused as to why I'm here tonight." He said, looking straight at Elphaba.

She shrugged lightly, and glanced towards Avaric. "You never really know what to expect when it comes to a dinner invitation from Tenmeadews."

"Aren't we such a lovely group? Avaric chuckled irritatingly and checked his phone for messages.

"Avaric has filled me in on their mole hunt, and of yours as well." Baldr said, ignoring the blond, and choosing to focus on Elphaba. "I feel that seeing we're all fighting the same battles, we should take this chance share our Intel… I'm sure Fiyero has already told you about our recent layoffs."

"Not Fiyero but my assistant, Boq, heard some things through the grapevine." Elphaba nodded slightly, "Soloman & Richmond, amongst others."

"On our side, we just started running the personnel files from top to bottom. It's taking a while, but we're digging up a lot of dirty secrets." Avaric said suddenly in a rare moment of seriousness. He placed his phone down on the table gently, careful not to scratch his thousand dollar oPhone. "For now, Grizzle seems to be playing nice. I got my legal department on high alert."

"Our HR department is doing some checks too, but we're going too slowly." Elphaba admitted. "For now, it seems like we haven't had too strong of a Grizzle connection in Thropp Co."

"No shit. You made it quite clear that you don't like them from the very beginning." Avaric snickered.

"In any case," Elphaba rolled her eyes, ignoring Avaric, "We'll need solid proof of widespread corporate espionage before we can take them to court. And it'll be a messy affair, especially since all three of us would be going at it at the same time."

Avaric snickered again, this time at some unintentional sexual innuendo in Elphaba's speech. She glared weakly at him, knowing that he didn't really give a damn, and then sighed and turned to Baldr.

Baldr sighed, and scratched a spot on his chin, "I've heard from some trusted friends that Grizzle has someone named Helen _Morrible_ in their employ… Does that name sound familiar to you?"

"It does, actually." Avaric perked up, and took a sip from his wine glass – which was rapidly approaching on empty. "She was pretty big back in the day when my dad used to run the office. If I remembered correctly, she was a member of the board for TikTok Times Trading – y'know, before they hit some bad times and got run into the ground."

"TikTok Times? They were the biggest Trading Company around before Thropp Co and Arjiki came into EC square." Elphaba felt her eyes widen slightly. "But I've never heard of this… Morrible."

"She was really good at what she did." Avaric said, almost admiringly. "Devious and meticulous was how daddy used to describe her… Nobody knew what happened to her after TikTok died… Till now, I guess."

"So she's working for Grizzle," Baldr sighed, rubbing his thumb and index finger against the bridge of his nose. "Was she known to have used corporate espionage?"

Both Elphaba and Baldr looked to Avaric.

"Why are you people looking at me like that?" He scoffed, and then shrugged. "I've only got rumors… Lots of the old timers think that Morrible planted people in her own company and found out that she was about to be bought out by some of the others on the board."

"So she ran it to the ground?" Elphaba raised a brow in confusion.

Avaric nodded, "Changed the company insurance and made herself a neat sum when the company came under. At least, that's what I heard."

"Shrewd lady." Baldr frowned, and swirled the wine lightly in the glass, taking a long sip afterwards.

"Not someone I would want on my team." Elphaba shook her head lightly and, for the first time tonight, took a sip from her wine glass as well. "… Although, I assumed that you had a semblance of an idea of who she might've been, since you were the one to bring her up."

Baldr glanced up at her and shook his head.

"It was just a name that was frequently mentioned… I figured that she must be important."

Avaric jumped in at this moment, surprisingly helpful. "To be honest, I'm surprised that she hasn't turned up until now… Morrible wasn't known to be a shy of the limelight. She's quite the opposite, really."

Elphaba grimaced, uncomfortable with the knowledge that Grizzle has someone like her in their roster. It was just a matter of time before the corporate spies would find out that they had been compromised – and by then, who knows what kind of damage they would've done in desperation.

Corporate Espionage of this intensity held a minimum 50 million dollar penalty plus a lifetime ban from working in white collar industries – all this top of a nice long stay in prison.

For people like them – men and women who were used to suits and dresses, documents and emails, business decks and financial plans – for people like them, it's akin to losing one's lordship and being exiled from their kingdom.

And now that they were slowly forced into a corner… well, Elphaba knows how animals react when they feel like there's nowhere else to run…

They attack.

* * *

 **A/N** Short, and late. Sorry about that! I've been caught up with work. In any case - Boq's been taking up a little more screen time than usual. It's really quite fun writing for him lol!

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - Personally, I was hoping to convey Fiyero insecurities about his r/s with Elphaba through the way he overcompensates... That whole T.H thing bugs him, of course. :P It'll _probably_ come up sooner or later. :P :P :P

aramenunicorn - Well, I think for Milla's situation, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Welcome back by the way! :)

Just Me - Yay! :)

LifelongLeahstar - Haha! I'm really glad that you're enjoying this. I still feel odd writing fluff especially for this awkward, shields-up-high Elphaba I've written, but hopefully it would come more naturally as we close this story!

lorenalims - Was this fluffy enough? :P

Mother yackel - It really must've something you ate! :P Thad's a pretty selfish guy in my opinion. He's got his reasons, of course, but still - pretty shady.

Guest/Ajeff - 'Every chapter gets better each time.' - You just made a grown man blush. Thank you. Hahaha! Saw your review(s) on Precinct 9 as well! :P


	24. Chapter 24

**24.**

8.15pm.

Most of the drones should've left for home by now. Boq had been sitting in a café a few blocks away from the Thropp building after he left the office at 6.30pm. He killed some time with a little light reading, but he mostly just doodled on a small stack of napkins.

He would be headed back to the office tonight just to check up on things. It felt a little ridiculous to have to resort to this, but it was a good way to see if there were suspicious characters worth investigating. The HR department's screening process was taking way too much time for his liking, and Boq was beginning to feel a little paranoid.

He finished off his drink and balled up his napkins, shoving them into the paper cup. After he'd tossed his trash, Boq left the café and made his way back to the office.

Mondays meant that the streets in the business districts had lesser people milling around. They all wanted to head straight home after a long day. His footsteps were loud against the cold concrete, and by the time he reached the lobby, it was 8.30.

The daytime receptionist was replaced with the night shift guards. A stocky munchkin man sporting a thick ginger beard raised his brow when he spotted Boq. He rose slowly from his seat behind the receptionist's desk and tucked his thumbs behind his belt. His uniform was tidy, clean and crisp.

"Evenin'. Late work tonight?" He asked politely.

Boq nodded and pulled out his employee's card, making a move towards the security gantry. His was different from most others – it had a golden band on the front that indicated that he was from management. The guard glanced at his card, noticed the band, and visibly relaxed.

"Don't work too hard – got another 4 days to go before the weekend." He remarked casually and sat back down, tipping his cap to Boq, who gave him a little wave.

"I won't be long."

* * *

Milla waited for everyone in the business strategies floor to head off before she packed up her things and sat at her desk, nervously eyeing Elphaba's office. The office had gotten colder as the evening sky grew darker – it looked like it might rain in the next hour or so.

She glanced around, and when she saw that nobody else was around, she got up and walked over to Boq's desk. The mini bobbleheads that she got for him last year during the company 'Lurlinemas in July' party were gone. She remember them sitting in front of his computer screen – but she supposed that he either threw them away or simply kept them out of sight now.

This made her a little sad.

She sat down on his desk and began to rifle through his top drawers. There were some miscellaneous stationaries, loose change, and several ginger candies that had gone a little soft – basically, nothing important.

Another drawer held various chargers and wires for different brands of phones, and an old tablet that had a cluster of dead pixels in the corner. It was the third drawer that she pulled that got her attention.

It was the only locked drawer on his desk.

She got off the chair and knelt down, peeking into the lock and sighing. As much as she liked, she hadn't been able to finish that course on lock-picking that Merritole, her supervisor, had made her take.

Milla got up, brushed at her skirt, and stepped over to Elphaba's door, testing her luck with the handle – and of course, it was locked… Nothing to be done there. The odds were that Boq had Elphaba's keys _with_ him, and that whatever he had locked up in that drawer was probably worth a pretty penny to the right people.

"Did you need something?"

She was startled, and the hairs on her arms stood at attention. Milla spun around nervously and came face to face with Boq, who narrowed his eyes slightly – either confused, or suspicious. She exhaled, as if relieved that it was just him, and laughed.

"Lurline – you scared me… Thought everyone had gone home… I hung back, y'know, to get some work done… Got a little bored and took a walk around the office." She replied lamely. When she had collected herself, Milla mustered up her sweetest smile. "What are you doing back here tonight? Work?"

Boq raised a brow at her, his eyes still narrowed.

"… Maybe you oughtta step away from Elphie's door… She wouldn't like that." He said monotonously and stepped towards his desk, setting his messenger bag down on his seat.

Milla stepped away from Elphaba's door, and continued smiling, her eyes glancing over Boq as he turned on his computer. "What cha' doing here this late?" She tried to watch for his password, but his fingers simply hovered over the keyboard, and he looked up at her, curious.

"I forgot about some documents that I had to send." He said blandly, and his fingers removed themselves from the keyboard, much to her disappointment. "What about you? I don't remember having anything urgent on the agenda this week… I mean, it's a Monday."

"Gunning for employee of the month," she laughed sarcastically, and was relieved to see him laughing as well – albeit a little forcefully. "Joking aside, I really did stay behind to finish some reports… Boring stuff."

"Right… Of course." Boq said, and removed his coat, placing it on his chair. "… Maybe you should head home. It's getting late, and it looks like it's about to rain."

"Hm… Are you going to be quick? I could wait for you, and we could walk out together." She replied hopefully.

Boq shook his head and tapped on his watch, which looked fairly new – Milla began to wonder if it had been a gift… There was a small pang of jealousy in her chest.

"It's gonna take a while. Downloading, editing, sending it out. And some other stuff I gotta do for Elphie." He said with a short sigh.

"I don't mind hanging around." She said.

He peeked over to her desk, and then glanced back at her. "I mean, you've already had your stuff packed, looks like." The quality of his voice seemed to change. "I wouldn't want to keep you… Seriously. Head home. Get some sleep. It's still a workday tomorrow."

"…Right. Sure." She relented, and felt her chest deflate. At one point, she had actually hoped that he would agree. Not just because she would have the chance to reconnect with him and maybe find out what happening on the management level, but also because she had really, genuinely, missed him.

"Goodnight, Milla." He said, almost sadly.

"'Night…"

* * *

Well.

That was pretty upsetting.

Boq exhaled sharply when he was sure that Milla was gone. He was alone now in the office, only the soft humming from his computer to keep him company. He lied about the documents he had to send, of course. He just really needed her to leave.

…

Milla.

It had to be Milla.

Taking a walk around the office? He was almost insulted at how stupid she must've thought he was. When he came out to the lift lobby, he could already see her stuff packed up and sitting on her desk.

His computer came alive, and he logged in. There was a folder that was shared amongst the upper management of the company where supervisors updated their charge's tasks and responsibilities – it made sure that everyone was held accountable for their work.

After typing in his username and password, Boq navigated towards the Business Strategies department and found Milla's name listed under 'Media Watch'. This, essentially, meant that she was spending her day going through media sites and news reels to document information that might be useful for the company.

It wasn't something that you would stay up to 'finish' – especially on a Monday evening.

He sighed, then groaned, and then he laid his head down on his desk and slowly banged his forehead against the polished surface very gently, hoping that it would somehow wake him from what seemed like a horrible nightmare.

* * *

On Thursday, Tibbett and Crope went out buying some emergency popcorn movie night supplies while they left their loft to a certain vinkun and his special lady friend.

Fiyero laid back on the couch with a bottle of apple juice in one hand and a nutty chocolate bar in the other. Elphaba was giving him a look as she manoeuvred around him and sat on the arm chair opposite to him… He swallowed hard and took a swig of apple juice, uncomfortable at the dry thirst that wouldn't go away.

"Have you heard of this little thing called a sugar rush?" She asked, raising her brows at him. She took a small sip of her glass of water. "You'll be out like a light half way through the movie."

"I mean… You won't let me have beer." He whined, thinking about that cold case of IPA beers sitting in the fridge right now… he wished he hadn't saw them when he came in.

"Because you're a recovering alcoholic…?" Elphaba challenged, slight irritation slipping into her tone.

" _Whaaaat?_ " he complained in a high pitched voice, "you can't get drunk on _beer_."

"Which part of 'alcoholic' do you not comprehend?"

"The part where I don't get to have one bottle of beer on movie night."

"I'm not having this conversation with you." She said almost coldly, and sipped from her glass again. She placed it down on the low coffee table and began to read something from that ridiculous e-reader that she brought everywhere with her.

Fiyero sighed frustratedly, and suddenly, he no longer felt like finishing his chocolate bar. This was a conversation that he haven't had with Elphaba in a long time, and he hated that it had finally come up again – tonight of all nights. It was just supposed to be a night in with his two best friends and the woman he loved… He pulled up the plastic wrapper and put the chocolate aside – a little too forcefully, since it caught Elphaba's attention.

"You're throwing a tantrum." She remarked.

"No I'm not." He replied stonily. "I just don't feel like having chocolate anymore."

She looked like she was about to say something, then decided against it, so she glared at him for a little while before turned back to her e-reader. He swallowed again, and finished off his drink.

…

"… Could you come sit with me? You're too far away." He said softly. She looked up at him, her green skin almost seemed to glow in the weird yellow lighting from Tibbett and Crope's lamps.

"… Not if you're being an ass tonight." She replied, noticeably angry, but she'd tuned off her e-reader and her hazel eyes were locked in his direction.

"It's just… getting to me." He admitted, "Those are good IPAs in the fridge."

"And?"

"I keep getting thirsty… And I've always had beers on movie night."

"It's almost as if rehab had done nothing for you." She grumbled under her breath, but in his irritated state, his hearing seemed to be heightened.

"If you sit with me, it's much easier to pin me down if I make a move towards the fridge." He said, cautiously playful. It seemed to be getting through to her though, and he pulled a small smile.

She grumbled, and stood, walking towards him but sitting on the far end of the couch instead of the space right next to him. Fiyero whined, but Elphaba was adamant. So he shifted himself, scooting closer to her.

He leaned in, going for a kiss, but she pushed his face away from her, surprisingly strong.

"If you're going to be like this, I'm going to kick your ass."

Boy, she's really mad at him – although, at the same time, it reminded him of how seriously attracted he was to her. The thirst seemed secondary now.

* * *

When Tibbett and Crope had come back, they promptly got together to set up the projector against the wall and connected it to Tibbett's laptop. The couple didn't seem to notice how Elphaba seemed to be ignoring Fiyero attempts to reconcile.

"Elphaba! Beer?" Crope asked politely, passing one on to Tibbett, who cracked it open the moment he was handed one.

She shook her head, feeling weird at how Fiyero's best friends didn't seem to mind drinking around him when he had a history of alcoholism. When Tibbett had gone to help Fiyero with the set up – pushing the couch and tables aside – she turned to Crope.

"… I know that you two were the ones who sent him into rehabilitation… I'm just confused now, because you're offering him alcohol anyway?" She asked as unaggressively as possible.

Crope seemed surprised that Elphaba was even talking to him at all. She'd felt that on some level, he was still trying to put her and Fiyero together – especially after his jaunt with Glinda. He stopped his dish washing, and turned to her, giving her his fullest attention.

"He does good." Crope said with a small smile and tucked his hands into his pockets. "The rehab did nothing for him, we know, but he tries hard, and he's already doing much better than when he first got out."

He then shrugged. "We cap him at 2 cans, and make him drink a third of a gallon of water."

Elphaba was still unconvinced, but she supposed that he really has been making efforts to keep off his vices... It might be good to just let him loose once in a while. She would've preferred keeping him entirely off it but she was beginning to falter.

"… Alright then." She said, and she gestured towards the fridge. "… Mind if I have one?"

"Help yourself!" Crope grinned and winked at her.

She picked up a can and moved back to the living area, where the boys had cleared a space and threw a ton of pillows and bean bags on some thick, fluffy blankets. Fiyero glanced over to her and gave her a small smile. His eyes then flicked over to the beer that she was holding and immediately a look of confusion came over his face.

"You don't drink." He commented as he walked over to her and took her free hand in his.

"… I mean… It's movie night." She offered weakly.

His lips twitched, and she tried to force down a smile of her own.

"… I'm not drinking tonight." He said, taking the beer from her and placing it down on the coffee table, and now he held both her hands. Behind them, Tibbett catcalled, and Fiyero rolled his eyes, leaning down to kiss her. She parted her lips slightly, and he got a little frisky.

"Doooown boy!" Crope complained as he strolled by the two of them, laughing. "We haven't even turned off the lights yet!"

They pulled apart from each other and Elphaba felt her face heat up dangerously, almost like a fever – his taste still lingered on her tongue. Fiyero made a rude gesture at his friends, and they simply cackled, ignoring them soon after. He turned back to her and smiled widely, brushing a strand of hair away from her face and kissing her forehead.

"Movie?" He asked, and she snorted, pushing him away and picking a nice spot behind Tibbett and Crope. Fiyero followed after with a grin on his face.

"Turn off the lights please!" Tibbett called out, and Fiyero complied. When it was dark, Crope cheered.

"Let's do thissss!" He laughed. Behind them, leaning comfortably against a beanbag, Fiyero slipped his arm around her and she held him close.

20 minutes into the screening, nobody was really watching the movie anymore.

* * *

On Friday, Elphaba came into her office only to find Boq rifling through her pantry, and she sighed audibly, feeling thoroughly amused at how he seemed to look sheepish as he turned around to look at her.

"Nice tie." She said as she walked over to her desk and switched on her computer.

He touched the onyx black silk tie and raised a brow, "Thanks?" He paused, "I've worn it before, y'know."

"You did?"

"Sometimes I wonder why I stick around…"

She grinned at him and laughed, and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Joking aside, is there a reason why you're here stealing my candy in broad daylight?" Elphaba asked, sitting down on her chair and leaning comfortably into it.

Boq walked over to the chair in front of her desk and sat down, his expression serious. "Milla was sneaking around the office the other night, after hours."

"How'd you know?" Elphaba furrowed her brows, her attention caught.

"She was behaving a little strangely, so I came back in around 8.30 on Monday night and found her lurking outside your office." He frowned, "Pretty sure she went through my desk as well, but I don't keep anything important laying around."

"Wh— Why'd you wait till _Friday_ to tell me?" Elphaba furrowed her brows.

"I had to be sure." He said simply, looking pretty upset.

Elphaba felt her brows rise, and she considered what Boq had conferred. She didn't know Milla well, in fact, she only knew her by name – there wasn't even a generic face that could go with it either. But if he was this sure, then maybe they'd finally have something to work with.

There was a summit that was coming up in 3 months – a meeting between the Heads of Economies from Oz and Calico. Grizzle Tech was planning to appeal for a licence to trade in Calico, and Calican government only ever had 10 companies at any time on these licences. The summit, and licence renewal/redistribution, only happened once every 5 years.

Of the 10 licences available, 3 were up for grabs to Ozian companies, with the other 7 being reserved for the Talini regions, Broxovani Islands, and the continent of Archford.

If Grizzle manages to get that Calican licence, between her, Avaric and Baldr – one of them is going to take a _very_ big hit, and it was just a matter of time before they crumbled enough to be bought out by Grizzle.

Elphaba was all for the free market and anti-monopoly, but she had to protect her people. Their jobs. Their families. Her policy had been to keep her human resources turnover as low as possible. She didn't care about expanding – Thropp Co. was big enough, and turning a steady profit every year. That was enough.

But Grizzle, it seems, was all about taking over the world.

"I'm getting Toby to send her file to me." Boq said, frowning. "We'll check out her references, and those companies that she listed… We'll dig down to her schools, if that's what it took."

Elphaba looked at him, feeling a little worried.

"Sounds personal to you." She said, tapping her pen on her chin.

He paused, and leaned back, sighing.

"We went out a while ago. Only for a couple of weeks, maybe a month, I can't remember."

"You know what I said about fra—"

"—I know, I know." He waved his hand dismissively, "I'm sorry." He then dug out a piece of candy from his pocket and popped it into his mouth. "I thought I saw her with some guy, and I got upset and stopped hanging out with her after that. I didn't even ask her who he was. Although now, I guess I dodged a bullet."

"You're a lucky munchkin." Elphaba said, inappropriately bemused.

"Yeah well," Boq scoffed. "We'll see."

"I've discussed with Baldr Tiggular and Avaric." Elphaba said, "We won't do anything until we've all pin pointed the spies within our ranks."

"What happens after?" Boq asked curiously.

She pursed her lips, and leaned back into her chair. "Send out a false piece of information to each other, and 'leak' it to the spies. If somehow it ends up with Grizzle, we'll know for sure, and we'll all be taking it up to court."

Boq considered the plan, and nodded. "Sounds good."

"Hopefully, we get this done before that Calico summit." She muttered, frowning.

"That's 3 months from now, isn't it?"

"To the day." Elphaba sighed, exhausted by the thought. "As long as we get them charged. The trial can come after the summit – that doesn't matter."

"Alright then. That's way above my paycheck," Boq laughed nervously.

Elphaba rolled her eyes at him and groaned.

"Tell me, how much is it going to cost me to buy a new identity in Quox?"

"We talked about this, Elphie." Boq snorted. "An arm and a leg, and possibly half your family fortune."

"Take it all!"

"Frex and Nessa won't be too happy about that."

"Even with half the family fortune, they still won't have to work for the rest of their lives."

"If they live fairly frugal lives."

"I mean, the house in the Nest Hardings is privately owned. They won't even need to pay for the land… And Frex was a congressman when he was younger. We're pretty set."

"How's Nessa by the way? Haven't seen her since your birthday." Boq popped a piece of ginger candy into his mouth and chewed pensively.

"She's fine." Elphaba shrugged, "She sent a postcard from the conservatory… I vastly prefer this less religious version of my baby sister."

"That's nice to hear." Boq remarked. "… So. She single?"

"I _will_ cut you."

"Right, right. Just asking, y'know. Being friendly, making small talk."

"Don't you have work to do? What exactly do I pay you for?"

"I just thought you were making monthly donations. Y'know, being named after Saint Aelphaba and all."

"Do me a favour and send this out. It's a wanted ad for a new personal assistant."

"You want me to send _this_ out? This yellow post-it note with the words 'Replace Boq' in block lettering?"

"Again, why do I pay you?"

"Because, Elphaba, I am a man of many talents."

"Oh, do tell."

"For one, I'm devastatingly handsome."

"That's not a talent."

"Ah, but it's a gift."

"I thought we were listing talents?"

"Secondly, I know all your secrets."

"Again, not a talent."

"Information gathering – that's a talent, ain't it?"

"Careful, your Munchkinlander's coming out."

"Whot chu talkin' bout?"

"Now you're just doing that on purpose."

"Everything I do has a purpose, Elphaba."

"I assume that the purpose of this conversation was to drag it out till lunchtime then?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a real smart cookie?"

"Why am I still talking to you?"

"Because you, too, are procrastinating."

"Oh. There _is_ something I need you to do."

At this, Boq finally seemed to get serious again, and Elphaba continued. "I've heard the name 'Helen Morrible'. I need you to find out whatever you can about her and give me a crash course on her career."

"Morrible? As in, Morrible from TikTok?"

"You know about her?"

"My father had shares in TikTok before they came under. It was blamed on the economy, y'know, after that civil war with Ugabu, but the members of the board suspected Morrible for corporate espionage and intent to defraud."

"Baldr heard that Morrible's working for Grizzle now." She said, "We think she's behind all this."

"I'll get on it then." Boq said, and stood from the chair. He quickly snatched more of her candy from her pantry and walked out of her office.

Elphaba rolled her eyes at his antics, but was grateful that she had someone like him. Oz knows that she'd need his support to carry on through this.

* * *

"Mr Tiggular, you've got a guest waiting to see you."

Fiyero blinked blankly at Brian, his Personal Assistant, who was flicking his gaze towards his office. He had just come back from lunch with Tibbett and Crope, and he'd been planning to work on a presentation deck meant for the Calico summit happening in 3 months.

"O…kay?"

He stepped into his office and found a very familiar quadling man standing by the window, staring out at the Thropp offices on the opposite side of the street… Wait a second…

"Thaddeus Huntley?" Fiyero asked, feeling slightly bewildered. What was _he_ doing in his office, on top of not having an appointment? Thaddeus glanced back, and a smile pulled across his lips. Generally, he seemed nice and rather friendly.

"Fiyero! Sorry to barge in like this." He said as he stepped forward and reached out with a hand. In this scene, it almost felt as if it was Thaddeus's office he was walking into, and not his own. Ted glanced back at the window, and laughed merrily. "Great view."

"I got lucky." Fiyero said slowly, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he shook his hand.

"You really did," Ted chuckled and pulled away, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets. "It's funny, the office directly opposite to yours looks kinda like Fae's."

"Fae?"

"Oh," Thaddeus laughed again, as if this entire thing had been a silly joke. "It was just something I called Elphaba when she was still studying in Shiz. Nickname of sorts."

"Right."

Fiyero felt his jaw clench, but he kept a smile on his lips.

"Is there something you needed?" He asked, and gestured towards the chair that was position in from of his desk.

Teddy sat down, and rested his ankle on his left knee, leaning back casually into the chair. "Right, this isn't about business, rest assured. I know how it is with Soloman and Arjiki."

"Of course."

"It's about Elphaba."

Fiyero felt his body tense up at his mention of her, and he leaned against the edge of his desk, folding his arms stiffly across his chest. "What about Elphaba?" He asked, still smiling.

"Well, Fae and I have a very complicated relationship." Ted explained, clutching his hands together on his lap and gesturing with his thumbs. "I knew her when she was a teenager, having tutored her baby sister Nessarose for many years, and I happened to be a Teacher's Assistant when she entered Shiz as a freshman."

He barely paused before he continued, "We were together, and she was the love of my life."

Fiyero let his words sit for a while, as he sat there and simply _glared_ at Thaddeus. The quadling seemed rather proud of himself as he stared back stonily, all traces of good-naturedness vanished. After what felt like forever, Fiyero finally seemed to find his voice.

"Why did you tell me that?"

Thaddeus shrugged lightly. "I believe the question you wanted to ask was why hasn't Fae told you this before?"

"No, no, what I asked was very clear," Fiyero said, rather rapidly, "My question was, why did _you_ tell me that?"

Thaddeus seemed to consider him for a while before saying, "Because, I want her back."

Fiyero found himself clenching his jaw, and exhaling sharply. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and his thumb.

"She's not yours to have." He said, as calmly as he could.

"And she's not yours to keep." Ted replied, just as calmly, sitting up straight. "I've known her much longer, and I knew her before she was all…" He gestured mildly around the office with what seemed like a disapproving frown, "…this."

"We deserve each other." He added with a small shrug.

Fiyero had to close his eyes and count backwards, lest he physically lashed out at the smug son of a kumbric witch who was sitting in the chair in front of him.

"It doesn't matter what you _used_ to have, or how long you knew her." Fiyero said, his voice came out almost like a growl. "It was a long time ago, and unfortunately for you, she chose me."

"Oh, it's not all that long ago."

Fiyero scoffed, and chuckled lowly. "I'm sorry, but Elphaba's college years are long behind her. In case you haven't noticed, she's been out on her own for over nearly 3 years now."

Thaddeus raised a brow at him, and smiled. Oz damn, he hated that smile.

"She never told you?" He chuckled, and Fiyero felt his blood freeze in his veins. He shouldn't ask him what. He didn't have to ask him. He couldn't give him the satisfaction.

But his lips seemed to move on their own.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Thaddeus smiled, and leaned back into the chair.

"We slept together."

* * *

 **A/N** Hey, so I'm just going to be announcing that I'm taking a half year hiatus... :P  
Lol, jokes aside, I'll be back with a new chapter next weekend. In the meantime, do leave a review and perhaps favourite and follow the story if that's something you'd like to do. :)

aramenunicorn - ;)

LifelongLeahstar - I'm sure there were better names, but I wanted to work with H.M - Horrible Morrible, and in light of our modern AU, I went with Helen lol. Glad you're enjoying the story so far!

Ultimate Queen of Cliffies - Thank you! That's really nice to hear from someone whose stories I frequently read :P I've been following your latest one as well, but I haven't had the time to do reviews recently... In any case, glad you're enjoying this! :)

AstridElsa99 - Hahaha! It's become a sort of running joke for myself lol! No worries! More Fiyeraba to come :P

AJeff - Hey you! Glad you're enjoying the stuff I'm putting out! :) Hopefully you've enjoyed this one too haha!

Just Me - If anything goes south in Oz, there's a 90% probability that it's somehow Morrible's doing :P Glad you're enjoying this!


	25. Chapter 25

**25.**

His heart pounded in his ears, and he could hear nothing else - just the rhythmic beating that was going at a very consistent rate. There seemed to be something burning in his eyes, so he closed them, and tried to will the irritant away.

When he opened them again, something changed.

For one, his body seemed to be moving of its own volition, and he was lunging forward, his arms lifted and his hands were clenched into tight fists.

The first strike had come as a surprise to the both of them – just knuckle connecting powerfully with the quadling's high cheekbones, of which, he was sure he had at least fractured.

And then when the next one came, it had connected with his nose, and Fiyero was sure that he heard the painful crack of the bones getting snapped out of place… There was too much adrenaline in his body now because he could see that his own fists had turned purple and red, but he couldn't feel them.

Somebody had burst through into his office, and they were stepping towards them. Distracted, Fiyero felt something connecting with his jaw, and later, a kick that landed on the left side of his abdomen, and he grunted – the air escaping from his lungs. Royally pissed off now, Fiyero sucked it in and swung, his right fist smashed squarely against the quadling's already swelling cheek.

Seconds later, the quadling was pulled away from him. He didn't lunge after him – there was no point. He was already bleeding and swelling, the blood wouldn't stop flowing from his broken nose, most of which was dribbling down his face and getting smeared into his carpet. So Fiyero simply stood up, ran a trembling hand through his hair, and carefully straightened his tie.

Nobody dared to say anything, not even Brian, who looked absolutely horrified at what he had done to the qualding. There was noise, however, and people were trying to talk to him. Should they call the cops? Maybe get a first aid kit in here? What would happen to Mr Tiggular? Would the qualding press charges? What would Baldr say?

Fiyero couldn't care less.

His eyes were focused on the woman who was standing by her window, in the office on the opposite side of the street.

* * *

"Why did you do that?"

He didn't answer her, and he was just staring at the doctor who was attempting to get him to open up his fists. She knew that aside from that weird claw he was making, his knuckles had suffered too much damage to open up completely.

Elphaba tried again.

"Why did you do that?"

He blinked, and used his left hand to rub his eyes. After which, he finally looked up at her… Her heart ached at how _sad_ he looked. The doctor said something about having to put him in a cast after getting his cuts disinfected and cleaned up, but neither of them were giving him the time of day, so he sighed and walked away.

When they were finally alone, Elphaba tried again.

"I need to know why you punched Thaddeus into a pulpy mess." She said seriously as she sat down next to him on his hospital bed.

After a while, Fiyero swallowed.

"… He told me about you and him." He said, and she felt her blood freeze over. "He said that you slept together, before my Lurlinemas party last year."

Elphaba was quiet as he glanced over to her. His gaze seemed so heavy now.

"I lost it." He said, almost monotonously. "He came to my office unannounced, and he said that he wanted you back. And he went on and on about how you two met, and how you were the love of his life."

He paused and took a breath.

"I wanted to hurt him."

She looked over at him, and she frowned. "You did hurt him."

"No." He exhaled sharply as if frustrated that she didn't understand. "I wanted to _really_ hurt him… Not just knock his lights out… Elphaba, he came in and basically told me that he was going to go over and win you back. I couldn't let him do that."

She kept silent, not knowing what to say, or what to do. She hadn't meant for things to end up this way… This was why she should've left Fiyero alone, and maybe he would've moved on to someone who was less problematic.

He was still looking at her, however, and he reached over to her with his uninjured hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Don't leave." He said softly, already knowing what she was thinking.

She found herself saying, "… I don't want to."

"Then don't." He asserted, "Don't go."

Elphaba ached, feeling insurmountable guilt that she was the one who did this to him… This sweet, idiotic man who nearly killed another man because that was what he thought would make her stay. The truth was, she would've stayed anyway.

It was the feeling of completeness when she was with him. He was her home base, and like the many times he had told her before, she was his… For the first time, she believed him.

There was nobody who set her off more than he does sometimes, but it was only because she cared so deeply for him that he simply made her irrational.

She laid her head against his shoulder, and her grip on his hand tightened. She could feel him kissing the top of her head, and pressing his cheek against her hair.

When the words came out of her mouth, she wasn't even sure if it had been loud enough for him to hear.

"I love you."

And then again, because she didn't know if it was enough.

" **I love you**."

* * *

"Have you heard? Fiyero Tiggular beat up some guy who came to see him in his office yesterday! That was pretty hardcore."

"Whoa, seriously? Never thought he had it in him! What did that guy do?"

"Talked smack, I think. Nobody knows for sure. I heard that it was that quadling architect though. The one from Soloman."

"Didn't Arjiki fire Soloman? Maybe that's why the quadling went and picked a fight."

"Maybe."

"I heard he got beat into a pulp. Couldn't even open his eyes."

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Yeah dude. Pretty badass."

"Sounds like that guy's gonna be out for a little while. No way he ain't receiving stitches after that beating."

"Think he'd be back?

"Nah. If I were him, I'd take a hint."

* * *

Glinda knocked on the door to Fiyero's apartment, clutching on a basket of fresh fruits. Chuffrey had dropped her off by the lobby, but he had a dinner meeting with some of his investor buddies and couldn't stay, although he insisted that she call him when she was about to leave so that he could come pick her up in his car later.

Sometimes Glinda had to wonder what she did in her previous life to have deserved a man like him.

The door swung open after the fourth knock, although instead of the vinkun, Glinda was greeted by her bestfriend, who seemed just as surprised to see her. Surprise was quickly replaced by joy, however, as Glinda squealed.

"Elphieee!"

"Hey you." Elphaba smiled and she allowed herself to be pulled into a tight hug by the blonde. Glinda laughed and placed a quick kiss on Elphaba's jaw.

"So! How's Rambo?" Glinda winked at Elphaba, who snorted and gestured towards the hall.

"He just got out of the shower and he's getting dressed." She said, stepping aside to allow Glinda into the apartment. "Seriously, if you hadn't texted that you were dropping by, he would've stayed in his pjs the entire day."

Glinda laughed as she removed her wedges and placed them on the rack. The last time she had been up here was when Fiyero held his Lurlinemas party… She supposed that the party had been a sort of mixed bag, since it had been where she met Chuffrey, but also when Elphaba and Fiyero had their falling out.

She glanced over to the coffee table that sat in the middle of Fiyero's living area and noticed that a board game was in session.

"Were you guys playing something?" She asked as she handed the basket of fruits to Elphaba.

The green lady scoffed and walked towards the kitchen, placing the fruits into a large bowl. "For the first 20 minutes maybe. When he saw that I was winning, he started playing dirty… Now he can't stop complaining about how the game was rigged."

"It WAS rigged!"

Glinda's eyes brightened at the sight of the handsome devil who just walked out from the hall. Fiyero's hair was sticking out in multiple directions, and the tee shirt that he'd put on was a little crumpled.

"I mean, how was it possible that my token stepped into your property, which so happened to have hotels built on them, _twice_." He looked over to Glinda with a slightly bewildered expression, " _Twice!_ "

"What can I say? I know how to run a business." Elphaba gloated and then broke into cackles. She picked up an apple from the bowl and proceeded into the kitchenette to wash it.

The vinkun rolled his eyes at her, and then turned to Glinda and grinned. "Hey, thanks for dropping by."

"No problem," she said with a large smile and her eyes quickly flicked towards his hand. Fiyero noticed it and lifted his hand to show her.

"Looks bad," Glinda said worriedly.

Fiyero shrugged. "Hairline fractures, dislocation… No scars though. So that's kind of disappointing."

"Disappointing?"

"Chicks love scars!" He laughed and Glinda scoffed in exasperation.

"When would you be able to get that cast out?" She asked when Fiyero had finally stopped chuckling to himself.

He pursed his lips and raised a brow as if trying to recall. After a long pause, he said, "I'm thinking 2 weeks."

"Fiyero, you don't get to decide that," Glinda said as she stared at him incredulously.

"He's going to be stuck in that for the next 3 weeks at least." Elphaba's voice came floating out from the kitchenette and she appeared from behind the counters with an apple in her mouth. "We're getting it x-rayed again next week to see if stuff is okay in there."

Glinda found herself smiling at that and at the two of them. Elphaba was looking over Fiyero's cast, and he was smiling back in adoration. There was that little glint in his eyes that she never quite saw when the two of them used to date.

Elphie tucked a long strand of her hair behind her ears and frowned at Fiyero when he tried to stick a finger down the cast to scratch at the itch. It was the little things they did that made Glinda realise how great the two of them were together. They went back to the game while she sat by Elphie and watched.

There's always a moment where Fiyero would have this look on his face when he watched Elphaba concentrate on making decisions in the game – and similarly with Elphaba, even when she would roll her eyes at him or scoff at the things he says, it would always be accompanied with a tiny smile that she tried to hide.

Sitting there with them, it felt like she was standing outside the windows and looking in.

Glinda was happy for them of course. There was no bitterness or jealousy. Elphie had been her best friend for many years, and she liked to think that she knew Elphaba well enough.

Even with her awkward and unfriendly exterior, Elphaba was also a gigantic closet goofball and entirely too compassionate. People never bothered to see who she was underneath because they were too busy judging her exterior – her unfortunate coloring, for one.

And Fiyero.

Fiyero was born into money, and he was ridiculously good-looking and charming. This alone alienated him from everyone else – nobody believed that there was anything more to him than that. Glinda had known that because she was one of those people who only really saw him with his mask on, and it was now that she watched him with Elphie that she realised that there was a whole other side to him.

The two of them were the loneliest people she had ever known, and they finally found each other – and that was great. In some strange way, Glinda felt that she might've been the one to bring them together.

* * *

Evening came around and Fiyero began to complain that his hand was beginning to hurt. Elphaba made him take his painkillers and shoved him off to take a nap, promising that she would order some pizza for when he wakes up.

Glinda watched in amusement as Fiyero tried to sneak in a kiss but Elphie dodged very expertly as if she's had plenty of practice. When things had finally settled down, the girls then made themselves comfortable at on the couch as Glinda grinned slyly at her friend.

"So…"

Elphaba made a face at her and she laughed.

"What's going to happen?" She asked carefully.

Elphaba sighed, and shrugged lightly, leaning her head back slightly while picking up one of the cushions and pulling it to her chest.

"Thaddeus won't be pressing charges at least." She said. "We had a talk at the hospital while Yero was getting his hand set."

"He was conscious? I heard from some people that you could hardly tell that he had a face." Her eyes widened.

"The swelling came down by the time they got to the hospital." Elphaba said. "He admitted that he started it."

"What did he do?"

"I'm thirsty. Would you like a drink?"

"Elphie…"

Elphaba smiled slightly, almost as if she were guilty. "I'll get you a glass."

She pulled herself off the couch and went off to the kitchen. Barely a minute later, she was back with two glasses of iced water. Glinda took the water gratefully and sipped, not realizing how parched she actually was.

"So. This Thaddeus thing." She poked at Elphie with her finger.

Elphaba took a long gulp of the iced water and flinched at the dull ache in her brain. "I made him promise to stay away."

"And that's it?"

"That's it."

"Well, that was easy." Glinda raised a brow. "After all that damage he did?"

Elphaba exhaled sharply and leaned back into the couch. "It was a long talk."

"You have to share these kinds of thing, y'know." Glinda pouted, and Elphaba laughed affectionately.

"We talked a lot about our time in Nest Hardings. He asked about Nessa… By the way, she's doing very well in the Conservatory—"

"—Get to the good stuff, Elphie."

Elphaba laughed again.

"He goes on to list the various ways I'm better off with him than Fiyero, and then he was talking about how much better it had been back in Munchkinland."

"Was it?"

"Was it what?"

Glinda hit her on the shoulder lightly. "Was it better?"

Elphaba paused and shrugged.

"I was gawky and uncomfortable all the time. People there knew me since I was a baby… The green freak, they would say."

"Oh sweetie…"

"It's fine." Elphaba picked at a loose thread from the cushion. "But I wouldn't say that my time in Munchkinland was very pleasant… I mean. I met Avaric in boarding school, and I met you and Boq in Shiz."

"You would consider Avaric your friend?" Glinda laughed amusedly.

"He's got his uses." Elphaba snorted.

"Well, I'm glad you left Munchkinland." Glinda said seriously.

Elphaba looked at her almost sadly, although it didn't last long enough for Glinda to all her out on it, and she broke into a smile.

"…Me too."

* * *

An email came in at 4.30am.

Milla rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and frowned slightly, picking up her phone and noticing that it had come from corporate – or at least, it had come from the shell company that corporate was using to communicate with them.

The Calico Summit was happening in 3 months time. This was as they say their end game – and Milla couldn't help but feel anxious. This had been the longest assignment she had ever been on. Most assignments lasts for a year, tops. Many ranged between 3 to 6 months on average. They usually consisted of photocopying documents, destroying the odd file or hard drive, maybe even tempering with important information…

The corporate spies usually worked alone. They came in, looked around, and got out. It was quick, clean, and professional. There weren't any 'spy rings' or networks – it wasn't as glamorous as _those_ kinds of spies. They worked on contracts and their names spread by word of mouth and recommendation.

But this assignment had been different.

They had supervisors, specific quotas and an Oz damned chain of command – and for an assignment to have spanned across 3 companies at once? Unheard of.

Whoever who was pulling all these strings had to have been planning this for a long time – it was either that, or that they were simply insane. It was easy to tell that the corporations were closing in on them. There were rumors of Avaric, Baldr and Elphaba meeting each other on separate occasions, and aside from parties, the three of them were never in the same room.

Milla could only hope that she could get out before she got caught.

She sat up from her bed and pulled her blanket down to her lap, squinting in the darkness and feeling a slight chill from her window – a single, wooden framed thing that was barely more than a hole in her tattered wall.

Her bedside table was a metal thing that she had picked up on the ground floor of her apartment building when she had moved in – at least, it was better than nothing – and the screen of her phone shone blindingly in the stark darkness.

She picked it up and tapped on the email, reading its content with a thin frown on her chapped lips.

…

 _We're going ahead with the plan._

 _All actives – consolidate what you can and exit within the month._

* * *

"It's happening, isn't it?" Boq asked as he chewed on a thin piece of liquorice. He was seated casually on the chair that Elphaba had in front of her desk, dressed nicely in a brown shirt and black pants.

Elphaba nodded solemnly, feeling something bad sitting in the bottom of her stomach.

"It's been sent out. A different one for different channels… We'll wait till the end of the week." She said, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. When she heard Boq make a little noise, she opened her eyes and blinked blankly at him. "What on earth are you doing?"

The munchkin shrugged and pulled another licorice from his little plastic bag and shoved it into the right side of his mouth… There was already another half-eaten one in the left corner of his mouth… She supposed that he was trying to imitate a vampire.

"What?" He said indignantly. "You know how I hate waiting around. One week, just sitting out there and watching everyone like hawks. It's creepy."

"Yeah well the summit is in 3 months. It's coming up fast and it's our most vulnerable period. If they're going to do damage, it would be then… Baldr and Avaric have already sent theirs out."

Elphaba walked over to her chair and sat down, her body swiveling automatically towards the window… Where on the opposite side was an empty office without its usual occupant. For some odd reason, she felt herself deflate a little.

Boq followed her line of sight and she could make out the smallest little smirk on his lips as he sucked in his licorice and chewed knowingly. He brown eyes sparkled at her.

"So… Not back yet?" He asked almost jovially.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. She pulled open her top drawer and threw the first thing she could grab. Boq yelped and swatted at the stapler that flew right at him, nearly tipping the chair over.

"Y'coulda killed me!" He nearly squealed as his eyes widened in horror.

Elphaba simply beamed victoriously.

Boq watched her for a minute, then straightened himself out. There was a hint of a blush on his cheeks as his eyes flicked over to the door as if worried that people might've heard him.

"But seriously." He said after regaining his composure. "How is he?"

She looked at him, and then found herself glancing over to the other building on the opposite side of the street. Just a few days ago she remembered standing right here, watching in horror as Fiyero leapt up at Thaddeus and beating him to a pulp.

She didn't have to be there to know what Thaddeus had said to set him off – she knew him well enough. Ted had always been… a little mean. There was always this hoity, arrogant part of him that Elphaba had never really come to terms with, and when she saw him that day at the elevator, she could already see the lines connect in his head.

Fiyero, on the other hand… Fiyero would never do that.

He would never walk up to another man and gloat about sleeping with his girlfriend… well, maybe the old Fiyero would, but not the man she knew now. He just wasn't the man who would play this sort of mind games with people.

Admittedly, he's a fairly simple man when it came to matters of the heart.

There are complex parts to him that baffled her all the time – like the fact that he hated math but somehow he's surprisingly good at it, or the fact that he enjoys watching hockey but hates playing it.

In any case, she's come to terms with the fact that he loved her, and she loved him – and it was simple as that… It was still so very strange saying that word, even in her head.

She loved him.

 **She** loved him.

He's been saying that way before her, but she had always pretended not to hear it. But now… having seen him rain down on Thaddeus that way, and the only thing she found herself thinking about was how that idiot was going to hurt himself if he didn't stop punching – she didn't even care that Fiyero might've _killed_ a man, but she was worrying about how he might've hurt _himself_.

Elphaba figured that that must've been it – the elusive love.

"He'll get over it." She said finally, and her eyes flicked back to meet Boq's.

The munchkin raised a brow at her, curious at her long delay, but said nothing of it. He simply shrugged and stood up, brushing himself down. "Ah well. Heard from Crope that he would be coming back to work in a week or so, after _anger management_ trainings."

"HA." Elphaba scoffed, amused.

"You're in no place to laugh," Boq snorted as he walked over to the door, "Not 2 years ago, _you've_ been slapped with a mandatory A.M class yourself."

Elphaba leaned down and picked up the stapler, and before she could straighten up again, Boq was already out the door – the sound of his laughing penetrated the thin walls.

* * *

 **A/N** Entirely too short for such a long wait, I know. Things are going to pick up in the next chapter however, and let's just say, it's not a good time to be a corporate spy.

I'm really entertained by the reactions and reviews from the previous chapter btw, but I won't be responding to them here this time! It's early, and I've been swamped with work lately. :\ I'd love to hear what you guys have to say, still, and I can't wait to upload the new chapter! It's not as disappointing as this chapter, I assure you ;)


	26. Chapter 26

**26.**

"Now, we'll just take a look at that nasty fracture…"

The munchkin doctor said as he flipped the black & white x-ray and clipped it on the board, illuminating the picture. Elphaba, who had been standing next to Fiyero with her arms crossed, furrowed her brows at the image.

"That doesn't look good." She commented dryly, trying to mask the worry.

The doctor, whose thick, bushy beard ruffled whenever he spoke, turned to her and shoved his hands in his lab coat. "See that thin, branching line running across his thumbs?"

She squinted slightly and nodded.

"Well, that's hairline, but it's extensive damage." He said gruffly and turned back to the x-ray. "I reckon you'll have to keep the cast on for another 3 weeks or so."

At this, Fiyero whined and leapt down from the examination table he'd been sitting on. "But it itches! I can't do that for another 3 weeks!"

"The itch would be the least of your concerns," Elphaba warned as she narrowed her eyes at him. Fiyero simply glared back at her, albeit a little weakly.

The doctor rolled his eyes at the two of them and walked around to the table, lifting Fiyero's cast to examine it. "Be careful about putting any sort of pressure on it and you might even get it off in 2 weeks." He allowed Fiyero to take back his hand and pointed towards his drawer, "Do you want a lollipop?"

Elphaba cackled while Fiyero burned red with embarrassment.

"Uh, no thanks." He muttered, and the doctor shrugged nonchalantly.

"Come back next week and we'll take a look at it again." He said.

Fiyero barely stifled a groan while Elphaba reached forward and gave the doctor a firm handshake. The two of them then went outside and Fiyero was made to sit while Elphaba headed for the receptionist's desk to fill out some forms.

The room around them was cold and clinically white. Bright florescent lights hung above them and the air was thick with the scent of antiseptic and various other chemicals. He sat on a plastic chair which was angled next to a faded leather couch. A man and a woman had already taken the two ends of the couch and neither of them looked very awake.

The man was a quoxan – he could tell by his peculiar features. He was dressed in a dirty plaid shirt and worn out jeans. The magazine that he was staring idly at was dated 6 months ago, and if the bags under his eyes were any indication, he hadn't had a good night's rest for a long time.

The woman on the other end was a vinkun. Her skin was tanner than Fiyero's, almost like the color of caramel. She was hunched and chewing on the loose skin of her thumb as she scrolled desperately on her phone - like she were looking for something in particular in a sea of useless information.

Neither the man nor the woman looked like they knew each other, but Fiyero was sure that when he came in, he saw the two of them with a little boy who was led into another room.

This little titbit wasn't pertinent, of course. It was just another reason why Fiyero hated coming to the hospital.

His eyes found themselves wandering towards Elphaba, and he felt his restless heart calm. She was leaning over the counter, listening carefully to the nurse who was speaking to her and showing her several sheets of forms that she has yet to fill up. After what felt like forever, Elphaba was finally released, and they headed out for lunch.

They spoke very little as they stepped out into the parking lot, which was a little odd, since Elphaba was usually the one who would start the teasing – but of course, it's Elphaba. Every time he thought he had her figured out, she turns around and does something else.

It was a Thursday afternoon in the city and despite that, there were plenty of people milling about the streets. Fiyero followed behind Elphaba, noticing that the loose, black linen shirt she was wearing seemed very well put together with her navy jeans. He felt a sudden swell of pride that he could say that this was his girlfriend… Then again, the word 'girlfriend' didn't seem to fit her.

The feelings between them seemed to fall under their own category.

Whenever he looked at her, he felt almost giddy at the thought of being able to hold her close to him and not have her squirming out of his reach like she used to. And it was that warming sensation in his chest whenever he felt her touch on his skin that really sold him.

Although, nothing beats the feeling when he heard her say those three words…

When he'd heard it, he honestly thought he could die right there. It sounds stupid when he really thought about it, but it was as close to the truth as he could get it. Elphaba was a hard woman to love.

Every so often, Fiyero would playfully slip in the 'I love you's, and never once did Elphaba acknowledge them. It was pretty easy to tell that she was actively avoiding the subject.

So to finally hear them from her, without any prompting from himself? Well, that's pretty neat.

He found himself grinning like an idiot even as he thought about the first time she said it, and he could see Elphaba raising her brows at him. She slipped into the driver's seat and he pulled himself into the passenger side, feeling a lightness in his heart.

"You're doing that weird thing with your face." Elphaba said warily. She clicked on her seatbelt and waited for him to do the same.

He clipped his seat belt on and beamed at her. "That's what happiness looks like, my dear."

"Ew."

Fiyero laughed at her ridiculousness. "What? I feel pampered and loved."

At this, her cheeks seemed to darken and he had long figured out that that was the equivalent of a _blush_. The corner of her lips twitched slightly, but she quickly quipped back at him, "Oh you just wait. Once you get that cast off, you're driving me around for the next 3 months."

She pulled them out of the parking spot and began to drive eastwards, towards the outskirts of the city proper where there was a quaint little eatery that Fiyero liked.

"3 months?! I'm only in this cast for another 2 weeks!" He complained loudly.

Elphaba cackled wickedly, and Fiyero rolled his eyes, frowning. He could tell that she was observing him from the corner of her eyes, and she grinned – feeling particularly amused by his annoyance at her.

"You're evil." He said finally.

" _Now_ he realizes." She laughed as they turned a corner. The car maneuvered smoothly and Fiyero could tell that they would be reaching their destination in a couple of minutes. She became quiet again, and Fiyero wondered if she actually thought that he was upset at her.

"You know I was joking, right?" He asked carefully. "I don't actually think that you're evil."

Elphaba seemed surprised and shook her head distractedly. "I know when you're joking." She said, and then paused for a little bit, as if she were ruminating, before finally continuing, "I've just… I have a lot to consider recently."

Before he could press her for answers, she pulled the car over and cut the engine. He blinked blankly at her and it took a while, but he realized that they had parked right outside the eatery.

"That was fast." He grumbled as he pushed the button for his seat belt and felt the strap retract away from his body.

Elphaba did the same and quickly got out of the car.

The eatery was a munchkin style joint with plenty of wheat and grain based foods that are accompanied nicely with a healthy jug of ale – not that either of them would be ordering that, of course.

Fiyero waited until they got inside and were seated before he tried again.

"So, what's gotten into you?" He asked as the munchkin waitress placed a menu in front of the both of them.

"Not you, apparently." She quipped with a smirk, her eyes still glued to the menu.

"Oi."

"Alright, alright." She sighed heavily and placed the menu down, wholly focusing on him. There was a little dip in her voice, and every word that she said seemed to feel elaborate. "There's a… _chance…_ that I may have to head back to Munchkinland in a couple of months…"

"…Oh?" He felt his brows slowly rise, and a slow dread began to creep under his skin. "But you'll be back in time for the Calico summit."

Elphaba pursed her lips.

"I'll be going _after_ the summit, so that's good, at least." She said empathetically, although it didn't sound very convincing to him.

"Is it something to do with your father?" He asked. Fiyero heard very little about Elphaba's father – just that he's a man of the cloth now, and that he used to be a congressman. "How long would you be gone?"

She shook her head. "It's not Frex. He's doing fine… Travelling to Ev on an evangelizing trip apparently. Although I suppose that does tie in with why I have to go back…"

"Have to? I thought you said that you _might_ go back – not _have to_."

"The house in Nest Hardings is sitting on some prime land. Old, large, and very valuable." She sighed tiredly. "Frex would be on his trip circling Ev, Quox and Filaan for the next 2 years, and we can't leave the house unattended."

"Don't you have servants or something? They're attending the house, aren't they?" He frowned deeply, suddenly feeling panic slowly rise in his chest.

"It's tricky business." She said firmly, and he could tell that she wasn't too happy about it either. "Nessa won't be able to hold the fort. She's doing well in the conservatory and we can't rip her away from the only thing keeping her from turning into a religious zealot like my father… And it's not like I don't have a regional office in Munchkinland, I could still work—"

"—why do you have to go back there?" He asked sternly.

She paused for a long time, and then exhaled sharply.

"There are people who want to turn my ancestral home into a museum or a theme park… And I'm telling you, the property on Nest Hardings is old enough for the government to poke their nose into it." She said, her words were deliberate and careful. "I don't get along with my father much, and I care very little about his religion, but I know that it's all he's got. I'm not going to blame him for all of this."

Fiyero let this information sit for a while as he leaned away from the table. "They can't just _take_ your house away from you… That's just ridiculous. I've got an apartment in Filaan and I haven't been back there in a couple of years – doesn't mean they can just _claim_ it back."

"There are _some_ people who're willing to pay a lot of money for the house." Elphaba sighed. "And when money doesn't work, they'll bring out the old laws, some ancient history about how the house is really public property or whatever convoluted madness their lawyers can cook up… There's just no way I won't be dragged into this."

He frowned deeply at that. The palms of his hands were suddenly slippery with sweat, and his head was spinning with the thought of Elphaba having to leave so soon after he finally caught up to her.

2 years.

She would be going home to Munchkinland for 2 years.

"How long had you known?"

Before she could speak, they were interrupted by the waitress, who came back to them with a nice glass of iced tea for each of them. She placed them down on the coasters and walked away.

Elphaba took a sip from hers before speaking. Her voice was oddly detached.

"Maybe 2 weeks? We were right in the middle of dealing with all the preparation for the summit and we got busy, and then the fight happened and you got yourself hurt—"

"—no no no, we're not talking about me, we're talking about _you_." He grumbled as he begun to feel irritated, an onset side effect of the hurt. He felt angry just looking at her. Those pretty hazel eyes, and the exotic green skin… Augh. Why'd she have to be so mesmerizing?!

He took a large gulp of his iced tea and groaned at the dull pain at the base of his brain. "Gahhh. Even the tea is out to get me."

"Then don't drink it so fast." She narrowed her eyes at him worriedly.

"Well, I'm angry!" He snapped back haughtily. "When were you gonna tell me? When you're on the plane to Munchkinland?!"

"I was going to tell you when – you – got – home." She said bitingly, beginning to feel annoyance at his anger at her.

"Auugh, I am so pissed at you right now." He groaned frustrated, "I mean, I love you, but for Lurline's sake, 2 years?!"

"W-Wha-?! How is this _my_ fault?!"

"That's why Ted Huntley was so happy to leave you alone, wasn't he?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "He quit Soloman and went back to Munchkinland just two days ago to set up his own firm… He knows, doesn't he?"

"Ted didn't know anything for shit's sake." Elphaba said through gritted teeth. "I could care less about what he's doing."

"Ah Lurline, he's going to be coming up to your doorstep every single day with roses," Fiyero groaned frustratedly and ran his one good hand through his hair. "Do that every day for 2 years and I might fall in love with him too."

"W-What?!" She furrowed her brows at him and frowned. "I mean, you'll visit, won't you? Even if he did try to do something, as long as…" She trailed off and bit her tongue, flushing deeply.

"As long as?"

She exhaled sharply, "As long as you're mine."

Fiyero paused – and suddenly the anger and irritation seemed to dissipate. His frown twitched, and it was in danger of up turning. Oh, he's still pissed off – but it was hard to stay mad when the usually stoic Elphaba is forcing herself to say cheesy, romantic things.

"As long as you're mine?"

"I mean, so long as we got that out," she mumbled awkwardly, trying to sound nonchalant, "As long as you're mine, and I'm yours, it doesn't matter what he does. I'm not interested… If anything, _I_ should be the one who's worried about women jumping your bones the moment I'm out of the city."

Fiyero felt his cheeks flush, and he scoffed, raising his cast at her. "Hey! I nearly killed a man for you. I don't do that for just anybody y'know?"

"I'm more worried about the women in this city than about _you_ doing anything of the sort," She snorted and rolled her eyes at him.

He glanced at her as his lips twitched into a smile, and she looked back at him with a smile of her own. There was a knowing silence between them.

"... If Frex asked me to do this 6 months ago, I probably would've said no." She said suddenly, in a small voice. "But I suppose that after having made a new… _friend_ —"

Fiyero snorted, and she laughed lightly, averting her eyes in embarrassment. "—well, I guess I learned that it was okay to show that I care… and that I should show it more often… For my family, friends… Yada yada, blah blah."

He couldn't help but grin at her now, and he felt that warmth flooding into his chest. She grinned back at him, and he felt his body move on its own. He stood suddenly and walked over to her, accidentally bumping his hip on the edge of the table.

The stunned look on her face was quickly replaced with something akin to bliss as he leaned down and kissed her soundly.

* * *

It's going to be a very odd day.

There was just something in the air that unsettled her, and as she rushed to get her things into the little hard drive she had plugged into her computer, Milla felt her pulse rushing. A day after she received the email from corporate, she had noticed that everyone seemed to be scrambling.

There was a lot to do for the Calico summit and business strategies carried most of the stress when it came to helping Elphaba prepare for things like that. If they did it right, a bonus was surely on the way for them at the end of the year. If not, there was a good chance that half of them would lose their jobs by winter.

Milla was not going to stick around for that.

They said to pull out by the end of the month but she was getting nowhere with Boq, and company secrets were incredibly closely guarded around here. So long as she grabbed whatever she could off the cloud, maybe she could at least sell enough of it to buy a ticket out to Ev… Getting a decent apartment when she got there would be another story all together, but money for a ticket would be nice.

20 minutes later, her files had finally downloaded. She had never felt so relieved in her life. She finally took the time to observe her surroundings.

Papers and files were stacked high on everybody's desks. There was a queue at the printer, and many of them were typing furiously into their computers – either they were rapidly replying emails, or crawling through the internet to look for information that maybe helpful for their cause.

And the phones.

The constant, incessant ringing of the phones.

That's something she wouldn't miss.

As if sensing that she was already listing her office pet peeves, her computer rang out with a sharp _ping_ and it indicated that she had received an email. Milla sat down and sighed, knowing that she could simply pick up her bag, leave her resignation letter on Boq's desk, and leave the city forever – but habit forced her to sit down and take a look at the mail.

She clicked on the notification and read through the contents of the email… Her brows raised slowly as she realized that it was a draft of the quarterly company finance report… except that the numbers seems a little low… And she wasn't supposed to be looped into this…

Accidents like that rarely happened, and most times, Milla would be suspicious - but after her string of bad luck, she liked to think that perhaps she had finally found her golden ticket out of here.

Imagine what Grizzle would fork out for actual evidence that Thropp Co. was running red?

Of course for one, they would have the Calico license deal in the bag.

"— Elphaba's going back to Munchkinland after the summit—"

Milla perked up at the mention of Elphaba's name and leaned back to listen to Darius and Collins gossip… Most of what she compiled for Grizzle up till now had been mostly consisted of their break time gossips and pantry rumours.

"How'd you know?" Collins asked curiously as he sipped his cup of coffee, leaning casually against Darius' desk that was right behind Milla's.

"Overheard her tell Boq when she was walking out this morning." Darius said. "Sounds like a rushed trip… One way ticket too."

"You can't possibly know that!" Collins sounded unconvinced.

"It's true! Every word." Darius assured confidently. "She was getting Boq to prepare the details for her. I'm tellin' ya… it doesn't sound like a holiday."

"Maybe something's happened in the regional offices? Remember when she first stepped up as CEO? She flew out to Ev for the first couple of months to deal with some stuff over there, personally."

"That was after she shut down the office in the Ruby Marshes, wasn't it?" Darius seemed to recall. "Something big must be happening then… The Munchkinland offices is only second to HQ seeing that _they_ used to be HQ before we moved out into the city—"

It was then that Milla decided to stop listening in.

If Thropp Co. was really running red, it would make sense for Elphaba to personally fly down to Munchkinland to deal with whatever was happening there, especially since Munchkinland offices handles over 30% of Thropp Co. assets _alone_. HQ handled 50%, and the rest were spread out evenly between the offices in the Vinkus and up in the Gillikin Counties.

The report must be true then… And oh what a gold mine she just stepped into – or in this case, accidentally email looped into.

She might be able to afford that new apartment out in Ev after all.

* * *

There was 2 months until the Calico Summit.

To help ease the stress that everyone was carrying from the preparations, Arjiki Tradings held a little soiree at the Red Wood Gardens for the employees and it included a live band that played on the medium sized stage that sat by the pond and a large tent in the clearing that had free food and drinks flowing all day.

The grunts were ecstatic, and most of everyone had brought someone with them to enjoy the festivities. There was a corner on the far end of the gardens that had balloon artists and face painting for the children, and when Elphaba had walked around with Fiyero, many of the children stared at her like she was the greatest thing that had ever seen.

One of them even came up to her to ask why she didn't want to do the lion face or the tiger face paint like the other kids.

Fiyero had been worried that she would get upset, but Elphaba had told him that she had come to terms with her condition decades ago, so he shouldn't be the one worrying for her when it came to the color of her skin.

"Hey you guys!"

The two of them, who'd been standing in a quieter spot with their drinks near the pond, turned around to see Glinda with Chuffery, and Boq with a bagel in his mouth. Glinda and Chuffrey were like a matching pair of golden angels.

Their strikingly blond hair were perfectly coifed and their pale skin looked almost like pure alabaster. Even their clothes were in perfect synchrony. She was dressed in a light, strapless floral sun dress that was accompanied with her Karen Ozmaz handbag, and Chuffrey wore a white Arimini dress shirt that had its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and beige pants from the same designer.

It was as if they stepped right out of a gillikinese fashion magazine.

Compared to them, Boq, who stood next to Chuffrey, looked like he wore rags and bargain bin pants.

"Elphie, I'm telling ya, this bagel has got to be the best bagel in the entire city," Boq moaned blissfully as he chewed. "I'm gonna get this guy to set up shop in the building."

"Hey!" Fiyero greeted, happy that his friends were here, but a little shocked by their presence as well. "What are you guys doing here?"

Glinda laughed, and ran her hand up and down Chuffrey's arm, "This guy here was invited by Baldr so he brought me."

"Please tell me that you two then found Boq wandering the streets of the Emerald City so you decided to adopt him." Elphaba quipped playfully as her eyes flashed towards an indignant Boq.

"Oi!"

"Oh, we did happen to meet Boq on our way here though." Chuffrey said helpfully, oblivious to Elphaba's jab.

She cackled while Boq scoffed at her, finishing off his bagel and dusting the crumbs off of his hands. He wiped his fingers on a clean corner of the napkin that his bagel used to sit in. "We figured that you'll be here since it _is_ an Arjiki event and you two have been fused by the hip ever since you finally got together."

"No we're not."

"No we're not."

They both said in unison and both flushed deeply after.

It was Boq's turn to laugh, though it came out more like a snicker for Elphaba's benefit. She gave him a look that promised physical reparations later when she wasn't forced to be polite in front of other people, and he gulped.

"Hey, so where's Tibbett and Crope?" Glinda asked as she glanced around. For some reason, men who walked by her seemed to stare with sparkles in their eyes before accidentally walking into each other or tripping over something.

Fiyero jutted his thumb towards the crowd that was dancing in front of the stage where the band played. "They've been at it they got here."

The group peeked across the pond and watched as Tibbett and Crope, the only two men dancing with each other, swung and swayed with the music, laughing and making a nuisance of themselves while the other couples tried to stay out of their swinging trajectory.

Glinda laughed, and tugged at Chuffrey's arm. "Let's do that!"

He seemed surprised and for an older man like him, he probably didn't really want to do that, but Chuffrey was obviously very enamoured with Glinda, so he smiled and allowed her to drag him towards the crowd.

Boq wandered off to grab more bagels and Fiyero was left with Elphaba, who glanced at him just as he turned to her. Just as he smiled, the crowd that had been dancing stopped suddenly and they were applauding the band as the song ended. Another song began to play, and this time it was a slow dance.

Fiyero recognized the song – his mother used to play it all the time on the antique gramophone they had in their house in the Vinkus. Hearing it again after all this time made him both hopeful and a little sad. His smile began to falter.

Elphaba raised her brows and seemed to realize that his change in attitude was because of the song. He was surprised when she suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him around the pond, towards the stage and the dancing crowd. Glinda and Chuffrey were huddled on the other side of the crowd, and Tibbett and Crope were holding each other closely as they swayed to the music.

"But you hate—"

"—I'm off to Munchkinland in 2 months, are you sure you want to argue with me right now?" She replied as she stopped in the middle of the crowd and stood awkwardly in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders. Elphaba was only a little bit shorter than him, and it made for a comfortable fit between the two of them, he realized.

Fiyero found himself grinning at her as a warmth began to spread in his chest. He placed a kiss on her cheek as he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him. The band continued to play the song, and Fiyero began to sway… Laughing when he realized that Elphaba didn't know how to dance at all.

She was scowling at him and trying very hard not to step on his toes, muttering curses whenever she accidentally knocked her shoes against his.

"Stupid bloody shoes—"

"—you're doing fine, Elphaba." He chuckled amusedly as he spun her and she nearly barrelled towards another couple who strayed too close to them. The couple gasped and danced away from them, giving them the evil eye.

"No I'm not," She rolled her eyes at him and punched his chest, "And don't do that again without warning me."

Fiyero touched the spot where she punched him and pretended to be hurt, whining and pouting. Elphaba simply scoffed. "Weak."

"Well that's definitely something I would miss when you're gone," He huffed sarcastically. "All this domestic abuse."

"Oh I'm sure." She snickered.

"Such love and affection."

"Don't forget about all the attention I shower on you."

"Ah yes. That 2 hour buffer before you reply my texts."

"Sometimes 3 when I feel like you _really_ deserve it."

"And the way you scoot away from me when I touch you? That's fun too."

"I feel like I've made it up to you that night after we got back to your apartment from the munchkinlander eatery."

"Hmph… Yeah I guess so… Can we do that again tonight?"

"…Depends."

"On?"

Before Elphaba could reply, someone had come up behind her and tapped on her shoulders. When she turned around, Fiyero saw that it was Boq – and in the first time in many months, he felt like he could toss the munchkin into the pod behind them.

"Trouble." Boq said hurriedly, and he glanced towards Fiyero. "You're gonna want to see this too."

* * *

 **A/N** Glad that you guys enjoyed the previous chapter! Just a heads up, Chapter 29 would be the last chapter, and Chapter 30 would be a shorter 'epilogue' of sorts to wrap things up. I've been terribly busy with work recently and haven't been able to sit down and post these... But I do receive the email notifications when you guys review, so that's fun ;)  
Also, Pride Month has begun (especially around my neighbourhood in San Francisco) so happy Pride everyone! Here's to the freedom to love!


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